Rising In The Ranks
by theredcoon
Summary: Ivan is the leader of a gang called the Allies.When Katyusha becomes ill and she asks him to get married before she dies,Ivan agrees.He is forced to find a bride before his sister dies,and marries Alice Jones,without telling her he is in a gang.What starts out as a fake matrimony,ends up as a real marriage filled with ssiaXfem!America.
1. The White Wolf

Chapter ONE : THE BOSS

It was a very rainy day in New York. Huge gray clouds covered the sky while thunder rumbled. People rushed into taxis and trains to escape the rough weather. It was raining so hard the runoff, created miniature pools that collected on the streets. An incredibly short man (who looked no less than ten, really) steeped into the street and held his arm out, hailing a taxi. A yellow cab drove by and stopped, splashing the already soaked man with even more water.

He climbed in and shivered. The driver of the taxi turned around lazily, "Where to?" he asked lowering the radio to be heard easier. "T-to Chelsea P-pier please…" The man answered shivering in his seat. The driver nodded and started driving to the destination. Meanwhile, the man in the back stared out the window nervously and wrapped his wet coat around him tighter…

"HELLO? WE'RE HERE!" the driver yelled for the fifth time. The man in the back snapped out of his daydream with a jump and smiled an embarrassed smile "S- sorry…". "You didn't give me an exact address so I just drove you to the pier." "That's f-fine…." The passenger answered exiting the vehicle. "HEY! PAY ME!" the cab driver yelled "S-sorry." The man answered giving the driver a fifty dollar bill and walking away. "HEY! YOU GAVE ME TOO MUCH!" the driver yelled. But it was too late, the short man was gone. He shrugged. "Weird kid…" the driver mumbled as he drove away.

The short man walked up to a warehouse and knocked on the door three times. A taller blonde man with glasses opened the door "Where were you Ravis?" he asked as he ushered him inside. "I-I have to talk t-to the b-b-boss" Ravis answered, still shivering from the cold. "What? Why?" the taller blonde asked, totally confused. "I-It's important" Ravis replied as they climbed the stairs and went to another door where they knocked again. Another man opened the door. "Eduard, Ravis , where were you two? The boss is in a bad mood, and-"Eduard cut him off "Ravis has to talk to the boss, Toris" Toris stared at the two men and then rushed them inside.

They all walked in to a very modern styled room. The room was large, filled with white coaches around a television in the center of the room. Behind, that was a large widow, which showed a great view of New York. To the left were a few desks with computers and to the right was a map, filled with parts of the city circled and drawn on with red marker. More men were inside. Some, watching T.V. and playing cards, others were on the computers. To the back was a black door that another man with shoulder length blonde hair and a finely tailored suit stood in front of. They walked towards this man "He needs to see the boss" Eduard said, pushing Ravis forward. "Look, the boss is in a bad mood, he does not want any visitors." The man replied, his voice laden with a deep French accent.

"It's important." Ravis answered. "I told you the boss does not-"He was cut off by a voice from within the room he was guarding. "Let him in, Francis." The voice demanded. Francis rolled his blue eyes, opened the door and let Ravis inside. The room was all white. It was a private office of sorts, with a large desk with a computer in it, two coaches and a coffee table, a few bookshelves, and a small bar that held a few bottles of different drinks. To the back was a large window that had an even better view than the one in the previous room. "Here" Francis said to the boss, who was currently standing with his back facing them, looking outside of the window. "You can leave now Francis." The boss ordered. And Francis left, closing the door behind him.

"Sit down" the boss ordered, still staring outside, obviously in deep thought. Ravis sat down on the small white chair in front of the boss' desk. "Well?" the boss asked, his voice full of agitation, he moved to the right, and made a drink for himself, which he drank while still looking outside. "It's your sister." Ravis said quickly. At the sound of the word 'sister', the boss flinched. "And?" he asked, finishing his drink. "She's gotten worse boss…" Ravis explained quickly, bracing himself for the boss' reaction.

The boss turned slowly to face Ravis and sat down across from him. Ravis inwardly gasped. Up until now, Ravis had never seen the boss he worked for, he barely ever even heard his real name, let alone seen the man's face. The boss was hardly ever around anyway, he was either off doing "business", visiting his sister, or inside his office, where he was usually left alone. Plus, Ravis was one of the lowest ranked men in the organization. Lower ranked men hardly ever saw the boss unless it was a real emergency, like today. So, he never really got to see the head gangster of the Allies, the most feared gang in New York.

He really did have a scar across his left eye like Eduard said, and he was incredibly tall; just how Toris explained to him. Now, looking at the boss, he understood why he was known as the white wolf to everyone. His skin and hair were almost white and he had a glint in his strangely violet colored eyes that was almost feral. He was known as the white wolf because of all these reasons, along with the fact that he was just as frightening as one.


	2. A Promise

Chapter TWO: PAST TO PRESENT

(PAST EVENTS)

Ivan had been the head of the Allied gang since his father died one year ago. He had to leave college at the age of 23 and start as the new boss of one of the largest gangs in New York; only rivaled by the Axis, another gang that had and still was at the Allies throat. His father was a good leader of his gang; he was smart and ruthless and had kept the Axis and other smaller want-to-be gangs at bay ever since he became the leader of the Allies many years ago.

But Ivan and his father were never close; his father paid for his education and that was basically all the contact they had, so Ivan knew almost nothing about his father's business. So when he came to Chelsea Pier, as the new head of the Allies, he was determined to show he was capable.

Rival gangs, meanwhile, saw the change in leaders as the perfect chance to gain territory and power. With Ivan still learning how to lead his men and his territory, other gangs moved in and took away parts of his area bit by bit. This was a nightmare for Ivan; he just could not seem to live up to his father's name. He soon found out that members of his own gang were speaking about mutiny, they questioned Ivan's abilities and a civil war of sorts within his own gang started.

Looking for guidance, Ivan went to visit his older sister, Katyusha; she was like a mother to him and always knew how to help him when he had problems. She was surprised to see Ivan but was happy nonetheless "What are you doing here, Ivan?" she asked, welcoming him in, she could already tell something was wrong. Ivan cut to the chase "I just can't seem to be like father, Katyusha! Whatever I do is wrong and I just can't seem to be like him. I am not a good leader like he was…"

Katyusha shook her head and laughed "Ivan, you are so smart yet so clueless. The problem is you are trying to be father when you can never be him, because you are Ivan. You are not like him so stop asking yourself what he would do, when you should do what you want. Stop trying to be him and try to be yourself. That will fix your problems, whatever they are." He took Katyusha's advice and did what he thought was right.

At this time, his territory had shrunk in half, and that was when Ivan had had enough. He searched through all the members in his mob and personally killed those who were not loyal to him. Others who questioned his power were demoted or punished brutally. All the members left underwent a new act of initiation, where they swore their elegance to Ivan and to the Allied mob. He reinforced his gang with new members, including his own sister Natalia who became his underboss, Francis, Yao (who became Ivan's right hand man), and Arthur. Later, Eduard and Toris joined as well. Ravis joined much later.

Now that Ivan fixed the problems within his own turf, he now had to fight the rival mob and the smaller gangs. He and Natalia lead their men personally to do the fighting and fought off rivals themselves. They eventually won back all of Ivan's territory that was taken by lesser gangs. Then the Allies and the Axis had an all out war, with many members betraying their bosses and switching sides. Many died, but eventually the Allies won. Ivan became a legend of sorts, and many wanted to join the Allies.

Afterwards, Natalia became sick. She was never fully sane really but this was different. Ivan took care of her and protected her from everyone else who saw her as weak. Natalia started having feelings for Ivan because he cared for her. She confessed her love for him but he refused to think of her as anything more than his sister. She ran away, and Ivan followed her. She ran across the street without looking and a car hit her. She died the next day. Ever since then, Ivan felt like it was his fault that she died, that if he handled the situation differently, maybe she wouldn't have died. Something inside him snapped the day she died, and the sweet college boy was gone, replaced by a man with no love for anyone but his sisters.

Everything bad that could happen did, because just a month later, Katyusha fell ill, and had to go to the hospital. She was diagnosed with leukemia. She was treated with every medicine, therapy, and treatment available, but nothing helped her. Ivan felt hopeless, he couldn't live with another death so soon…..

PRESENT DAY

Ivan marched through the hospital, followed closely behind by Francis, Yao, Toris, and other lesser associates. He walked up to the ward his sister was in and found the doctors that treated her. He shoved one into an empty room and grabbed his collar "What is wrong with her?" he growled looking into the poor doctor's eyes.

The doctor fidgeted, pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and stuttered out "N-nothing we d-d-do helps, she is t-too sick….." he struggled under Ivan's grip. Ivan let go and the doctor fell on the floor. Ivan stood over him and ordered "You will help her; give her whatever she needs no matter what it costs." With that he left.

He barged into Katyusha's room and sat beside her "Katyusha, are you okay? What's wrong?" She looked up and smiled at Ivan. She was thinner than when he last saw here and was much weaker, there were even dark circles under her eyes, but despite all of this, she smiled.

Her smile was the brightest and warmest smile Ivan had ever seen, he loved when she smiled. Usually that would make everything better, but now, her smile was breaking his heart. If he wasn't so concerned for her, he wouldn't come at all, because every time he came to see her, he felt like he was watching her die.

Little by little she was getting weaker, sicker, and there was nothing he could do about but watch idly. It was almost too much to bear. Her smile that was once warm, bright, and genuine was barely a flame of its former self.

She was forcing herself to smile, and putting on airs so he wouldn't be worried about her. Even while she was getting worse, she soldiered through it and did not complain so her brother would not worry. This is what broke his heart most of all. When she should be worrying about herself, she was worrying about Ivan.

He tried again and again, to reassure her, to lift her spirits, to keep her fighting but Katyusha wasn't buying any of this. She could see through his forced smile, the laughs that covered sobs, and the tears he tried to hide when he turned away. She saw it all, and she felt sorry for him.

She knew that he was just trying to make her feel better and though she appreciated it, she could not bring herself to try and fight any longer. But for his sake, she would smile through the pain, keep a happy face, be positive, all for him. But he knew as well as she did that smiles would not make the pain go away. Katyusha was putting on a show, even when she knew the audience knew that the end would be tragic.

"They say that I will die soon, Ivan." She said quietly, still not letting her sadness show through. In the beginning, she was sad and cried over the all the things she would never be able to do. But now, she had stopped. It was the worst thing of all because now, she accepted her death. She knew that it was inevitable and she had stopped fighting. Ivan was now the only one who was still fighting for her.

The doctors, nurses, even Ivan's friends knew that she would not make it. He was fighting a battle that he would never win and worst of all; he was doing it all alone.

He frowned, "Do not say those things Katyusha, you will be fine."He gave her a forced, reassuring smile. Her smile faded "I am not so sure." Ivan was about to protest and insist that she was wrong when she held her hand up, signaling him to stop talking.

"Listen, Ivan" she said slowly "I don't know what will happen. But whatever does, I want you to be happy."

Ivan stared at her. "Where is this going, Katyusha?"

She nodded at him and continued talking "I always wanted to be happy, to be married and to have a family when I became a bit older but I fear that it won't happen. Poor Natalia did not have a chance to live her life fully either…" At the mention of Natalia's name, he flinched a little. And Katyusha stopped talking, knowing not to mention her too much.

"Ivan, if something happens to me….I want you to find love somewhere else."

Ivan frowned. "I do not understand."

She beckoned him closer to her and took his hand in hers. "Ivan, Natalia and I didn't have a chance to live. You should live your life to the fullest for us. If you can, please try to get married to someone you love, so you won't be alone."

Ivan was shocked "No, I love you, I love Natalia. You two are all I need."

Katyusha shook her head "No, I won't be around forever. Please for my and Natalia's sake, be married to someone, someone you can love." Ivan was speechless. "Please, do it for us….." she urged him quietly. He was silent for a moment, trying to let her request sink in. Katyusha watched him ponder over her request and gave him a hopeful smile. Ivan was about to say something else when a nurse entered the room "I am sorry sir, visiting hours are over."

She stood by the door and pointed to the hallway. "I am sorry, sir. But you can come tomorrow if you wish." Ivan nodded. "Fine." He squeezed Katyusha's hand softly and got up. She kissed him on the cheek and waved at him, giving him a small smile. "Think about what I asked, alright?"

He didn't say anything, but nodded softly. "Goodbye Katyusha. I will see you tomorrow."She nodded. He left the room and the nurse closed the door, leaving Katyusha to herself. He glanced at her door once more before shoving his hands into his pockets and walking back to the waiting area in the lobby of the hospital.

His men were waiting for him, sitting together in the lobby. Ivan walked up to them and sat down next to Yao. He reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette. Francis passed him a lighter and Ivan lit his cigarette, smoking for a minute. Another one of his men, a new recruit of sorts, came inside the lobby from outside with a cup of coffee.

"Oh sorry boss, it says 'No Smoking' "the man said as he handed Ivan the coffee. All the other men stared at him like he was crazy. Ivan beckoned him closer, and he walked towards him slowly, obviously scared for his life and regretting his decision of speaking. Ivan took the cigarette from his mouth and put it out on the man's and. The man bit down hard on his lip but did not scream or move away. Ivan gave him a glare that could melt ice. "Never tell me what to do." He warned the man. All were silent for a minute, they were all too scared to ask or say anything, for fear of Ivan hurting them. Finally Yao cleared his throat and decided to speak."Well… what happened?" Yao asked breaking the scary silence. Ivan got up and grabbed his coat. He slipped it on and lit up another cigarette. He puffed on it for a moment and looked straight at Yao. "I am getting married." He answered as he walked away.

Yep! This one was longer right? Thanks for the people who liked and followed my story!


	3. Ivan The Hero

CHAPTER 3: IVAN THE HERO

Sorry for updating so late, but I was shopping all day and I was not home until like, 7:00 and I had homework…. *sigh* now that excuse time is over here's another chapter: oh but before that listen guys: I know its school and most people are updating less, but not me! (Not how I roll) I'm gonna try to update more for all you people so I am thinking that I will now update 2x a week. What do you think about that? I'm still mulling it over though so…..don't get your hopes up just yet! Here's the chapter, hope you like it:

"You cannot be serious, boss." Francis insisted for the fifth time since they entered the car. Yao nodded his head in agreement and looked at Ivan for some answer. Ivan was quiet. "As your oldest friend, Ivan, I just don't think you should do this…" Yao continued. "We can figure something else out." Francis added. Ivan shook his head "No. If it will make Katyusha happy, then I will do it. I know it won't make her better, but I have to try to do something, anything….I won't let what happened to Natalia happen to her." Yao and Francis sighed, they could both tell that he was determined to do this and would not change his mind. "Alright boss," Francis said slowly "what do you want us to do?"

^ J ^

Right after that, Francis, Yao, and Arthur worked to find Ivan a suitable wife; one that was smart enough to stay out of Ivan's way but dumb enough to never guess he was a gangster. He was set on blind dates every day of the week, and met many different women, but for some reason, he could not find a woman to be his wife. After a week, Ivan was losing his patience and was starting to get angry. Ivan was scary enough without being angered, but now that he was becoming impatient, he was becoming completely terrifying.

^ J ^

Ivan and Francis entered Ivan's black BMW that was currently being chauffeured by Ravis. "Who is it today, Francis?" Ivan asked lazily. He was used to going on a date, sometimes even two or more every day. He was becoming tired of looking for a wife and started to take it out on his men, not that any of them would complain, unless they wanted to get beaten by him. Francis shuffled through the many biographies of the women who were potential brides. He pulled out a paper and read from it. "She is 34-year old Margurite Collins. She works as a waitress, likes to knit and is…pretty desperate. Just your type." He said jokingly. Ivan looked at Francis and started laughing. Francis laughed nervously along until Ivan stopped and looked at him with a glare that could kill someone. "Get the hell out of my car." Ivan ordered. Ravis stopped the car and Francis exited the vehicle, he knew better than to defy the boss, especially when he was this angry. "Um…Where now boss?" Ravis turned and asked nervously. Ivan sighed and rested his head in his hands "Just take me home."

^ J ^

Ivan entered his Upper East Side apartment. It was large; of course he could afford to live in a large place in an expensive neighborhood. His apartment, unlike his office was cozy and more antique than modern. It felt more like a home. The foyer had pictures of his family and a piano that Katyusha used to play when they all lived together. The living room was cozy, with comfy armchairs and a large couch all surrounding a vintage fireplace. Near the living room was a bar that held different liquors. Right across from the living room and bar was the dining room and before that was a large kitchen. Through the hallway just east of the living room were the bedrooms. Ivan's was the largest and was nearest to the back. There was another just across the hall and there used to be one more down the hall, but Ivan used that one as his study now. Each bedroom had a bathroom and a walk-in closet. There was one other room left, which Ivan used to store things, and that was the whole of his house.

Ivan sat down on the couch. He reached over and picked up a picture that was on the end table next to the couch. It was a family portrait. His mother stood on the left; she had large violet eyes and a smile that she and Katyusha shared. Next to her stood his father, he was a tall man, with hair the color of Ivan's and eyes that were blue, he had a stern look on his face, the same one Natalia always wore. Natalia sat on the floor, she was still a toddler, but was angry all the same. Ivan stood next to her smiling proudly and Katyusha stood next to him, smiling like her mother did. Ivan set the picture down. He needed a drink. "Huh." He said when he saw that there was nothing in his bar. He decided to buy some.

^ J ^

He walked slowly through the streets; it was a little late and was currently snowing, so almost no one was outside at the time. He was in no rush, since there was nothing to come home to or do at home. As he crossed the street, Ivan saw a car stop and a girl try to run unsuccessfully out of the car. She was followed by a face Ivan knew well. It was Gilbert Beilshmidt, brother of the leader of the Axis gang, Ludwig Beilshmidt. He was also the person that gave Ivan the scar across his was chasing after the girl and laughing. Ivan crossed over and hoped to not be noticed by him, since he did not feel like having a fight with him. "Hello Ivan!" Gilbert called. Ivan turned and nodded, he was about to leave when he saw the girl. She was drunk and was stumbling over. She was not very tall and had blonde hair, big blue eyes, and glasses. She had a good figure and was busty "Just his type." Ivan thought as he started to walk away. "Let go of me!" the girl yelled. She tried running away but fell down in the snow.

Gilbert laughed, grabbed her hand and helped her up. "Who is she?" Ivan questioned. Gilbert laughed as she stumbled again "Oh her? Her father owes us some money, so in return, he sold her to us." Ivan stared at him. He never heard of human trafficking like that in America that was supposed to only happen in other countries…and what man would sell his own daughter? "Why is she drunk? She does not look older than 16 at most." Gilbert laughed again "Lighten up! I brought her with me to the club, guess she can't hold her drinks. Kesesesesesesese!" Ivan shook his head. He was about to leave when she smiled, sure she was drunk and did not really look like her, but that smile. It was the same that his mother had, the same that Katyusha had and the same rare smile Natalia had….he knew he was not thinking right but, he just had to save this girl. The girl walked further away from Gilbert. Gilbert rose his hand to slap her but Ivan grabbed his arm "Give me the girl, Gilbert." Ivan ordered. Gilbert smirked "Are you crazy? Has all that vodka gone to your brain?" he responded with a smirk.

"Fine." Ivan said he walked up to Gilbert, grabbed his collar and punched him in the face. Gilbert reached his hands up to his now bleeding nose "You broke my nose you fuck!" he ran and kicked Ivan in the leg, Ivan stumbled. Gilbert kicked him again and again in the ribs. Ivan groaned and stood up straight, he punched Gilbert in the stomach. Gilbert groaned "Shit." He said as he doubled over but managed to punch Ivan in the face. Now Ivan was angry. Ivan pushed Gilbert onto the ground and punched him again and again in the face until the girl ran over to him "Stop." She said. Gilbert blacked out and the girl fell into the snow. "Great." Ivan said sarcastically as he picked up the girl bridal style. This girl was trouble….

Hope you all liked this chapter! It was another long one! I was gonna make this one into 2 smaller chapters but I was like what the heck! Anyways, thanks for reading! :D


	4. Mystery Girl

Hey people sorry for writing so late, but I went to my sister's house and stuff. I hope you like how this is going so far…I guess you do because more people favorite and stuff! Lol. So yeah this chapter…I worte it like 3 times. I hope this one came out good. Oh and remember when I said that I will update more than once a week? I did not lie; I will update 2x this week! On Saturday and on Thursday! So be ready!

Ivan carried the girl up into his apartment on the third floor. He was seriously regretting living in an apartment with so many stairs when he had to carry the girl all the way up to the third floor. She did not look like she weighed more than 120 at most but for some reason, she was extremely heavy. He dug into his pockets for his keys and opened the door. Ivan almost dropped the girl when he stepped on something that made a crunching sound. He laid her on the couch in his living room and sighed.

He looked at the girl. She had her hair all over her face and her clothes were falling off. Ivan straightened her shirt out and brushed the hair out of her face. Now that he got a closer look at her, he could see that she was indeed very young looking. She had lightly tan skin and some freckles scattered across her face. Her hair was long and dirty blonde and wavy. The girl was wearing an American flag t-shirt, jeans, and an old looking bomber jacket. He stared at her face… Wait, didn't she have glasses? Ivan looked at the ground, broken glass and plastic was lying on the floor. He cringed and resolved to apologize and pay for a new pair for her later….. He put the broken glasses in the trash. He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Who is this girl?" he said out loud as he stared at her. He brought back a blanket for her and laid it on top of her. He sighed again and glanced at her he decided to figure the whole mess out in the morning, and went to his room to sleep.

^ J ^

Ivan was awakened with a slap to his face. He jumped up from his bed and rubbed his face "дерьмо…" he mumbled as he looked around. The girl from last night stood in front of him with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face "Don't use your commie language on me!" she yelled as she glared at him even harder. Ivan stared at her, still in shock from being slapped awake. "Who are you and where am I?!" she yelled. Ivan stared at her in confusion "I saved your life and you repay me by slapping me in the face?" The girl was confused "What the fuck are you talking about? What did we do?!" He got up and pushed her aside to get into the living room, he needed coffee. She chased after him "Hey! Listen to me!" she yelled waving her arms "Who the hell are you? I want answers!" He started making a pot of coffee for himself "I am talking about last night. Do you not remember anything?" the girl stared at him "You were too drunk I am guessing? You were being sold into human trafficking, I fought the man who bought you and brought you here, to my apartment." She glared at him "Oh really? Great story. I am calling the police." She reached for the phone in the living room. Ivan got up and grabbed her arm, he smiled down at her creepily and she glared back up at him "I would not do that if I were you…" he growled.

She yanked her arm out of his grasp and set the phone down. She sat down at the dining room table and scowled at Ivan, who merely smiled in return. She put her head in her hands and groaned "My head….." she grumbled as she covered her ears and groaned again. Ivan giggled and the girl glared at him even harder. "Let's say I believe you…." The girl said slowly. Ivan smiled "Oh? So you do remember?" She scowled "Yeah…kind of….I just remember your face and a man and me stumbling…. I was drunk, wasn't I?" she asked. Ivan nodded with another smile, that creeped Alice out. "What's your name? Who are you?" Ivan asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Why do you want to know?" Alice asked defiantly. Ivan giggled again "I guess you do not have to answer, then again, I did not have to save your life…"

She mumbled a few curses "Fine. My name is Alice Jones. I am eighteen years old. Happy?" Ivan nodded. She stopped glaring at Ivan and tilted her head "Now I have a question for you: Why did you save me?" Ivan sipped his coffee "Good question…." He thought for a moment and his smile looked genuine "To be truthful….you reminded me of someone that I used to know…." She nodded and did not ask more. She stood up and walked over to him and poked him in the chest "So what are you some kind of pimp or something?" Ivan stared at her "No. You do not believe in privacy I am noticing." She frowned "Not when my life is at stake." He smiled again "No I am not a pimp. I did not save you for sex, or anything of that nature." She glared at him "Yeah? So who are you then?" He stared at her back "My name is Ivan Braginski." Her gaze softened and she sat down again. "You can go if you wish." Ivan said, pointing to the door. She looked down at the floor and whispered softly "I have nowhere to go...My father, he sold me for money…." Tears started falling from her eyes and she wiped them with her hand.

Ivan sighed, "Since I saved you, I guess you can stay here. But only for a little while." The girl looked up at him and smiled softly "Thank you….for everything I guess…"

Hope you like this chapter! Thanks to all you guys who favorite and followed! Updates will come soon!~ ^ J ^


	5. Lucky Francis

Hey people! Sorry that I always update so late in the day…. Not sure why I do this but whatever. *shrugs* I hope you like this chapter, and stuff. XD I am so excited for Halloween! You know what I am gonna dress up as? Fiona from Adventure Time! My friend is going to be cake and I'll be Fiona! Group costume power! ~ Random note: I am so addicted to the song "Karkalicious" by Broadway Karkat. Haha. So yeah… new chapter:

CHAPTER 5

Ivan sighed and rubbed his temples "It is fine…." Alice sat awkwardly and looked back and forth from Ivan to the room, trying to find out more about him. Ivan stared at her awkwardly as well, trying to figure her out. A loud rumbling filled the room. Ivan jumped and stared at her. She blushed and patted her stomach "Uh…Sorry…." She mumbled, filled with embarrassment. He sighed and walked into the kitchen "I might as well make some breakfast. Are pancakes fine?" She looked at him and nodded quickly. Ivan got the mix from the cabinet above him and started adding in the eggs, milk, and butter .She got up and shuffled from foot to foot "Um….Uh…Where is your bathroom?" He pointed to the hallway "It is the second door to your left." She nodded quickly and left to the bathroom.

Ivan poured the batter into the pan and watched as the pancake sizzled. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head. Even though he thought Alice was just a bit crazy, from his first impression, he couldn't help but feel bad for her."I wonder what happened in her life, for her father to sell her….Poor girl…." He thought. He wanted to ask more about her, but knew that it would be intrusive; he resolved to find out more about her later. Suddenly the door flew open and Francis strode in, followed by Arthur, who was trying to drag him away from the inside of the apartment. "No! You bloody idiot, he's going to kill us!"

Ivan groaned and glared at the both of them "What are you two doing in my house?" Arthur jumped behind Francis and grabbed onto his shirt. He peeked at Ivan from behind Francis. They stared at Ivan who glared back at them furiously. Francis stood up quickly and wiped his shirt with his hands, pushing Arthur off of him onto the floor. Arthur glared at Francis and stood up as well. "We came to see what you were doing…." Arthur said nervously. Francis nodded "Qui, we thought something was wrong." Ivan stared at them with a confused expression. "Do you not know what time it is?" Francis asked him. Ivan looked to the clock in the living room: It was already noon!

He turned back to them "That does not mean you break down my door to look for me!" Arthur glared at Francis who shrugged innocently "Be happy someone's worried for you, Ivan." He said simply. Ivan rubbed his head and put the pancake onto a plate "As you can see, I am fine. You can go now." Francis sat at the table "I am hungry…I think I will stay for lunch!" Ivan glared at him but did not say no "You are lucky that we are friends, Francis." he mumbled as he set the table for three. Francis laughed and nodded in response. Arthur sat down next to Francis and waited for the pancakes.

A door opened and Francis turned to the hallway "Who's that?" he asked with a smirk "Is it a woman?" Alice walked in slowly staring at the two new faces. Francis laughed "I knew it Ivan! I would have never expected you to be the kind to have a one night stand!" Arthur stared at the girl and frowned. Ivan glared at Francis "It is not like that." Alice stood in the middle of the room awkwardly looking from Ivan to Francis to Arthur. Francis smiled and turned to her "Oh come jolie don't be shy." She walked over and sat down at the table, still very confused and even more so, since she could not understand what Francis had just said. "I am Franics, by the way," he said as he reached out for her hand and kissed it gently "So jolie, why are you with Ivan? Someone as beautiful as you should be with a man who will treat you nicely, not with this angry giant." He winked at her. Arthur frowned at Francis "Leave the poor girl alone, pervert!"

She frowned and looked at Francis "My name is Alice, not jolie, whatever that is…." Francis laughed and looked at Ivan "She is so cute Ivan, please let me have her!" Arthur smacked him on the head "Don't ask him that, you idiot!" Ivan set the table and put pancakes on each of the plates "Leave Alice alone Francis." Alice frowned at Francis, who smiled at her seductively. They all started eating their pancakes with Alice feeling awkward and blushing, Francis flirting with her the whole time, Arthur trying to save Alice from Francis and Ivan just shaking his head at the whole scene. "You never told me how you met Alice, Ivan." Alice looked to Ivan who looked back at her; she looked at him desperately, begging him silently not to tell them.

"It was nothing, I met her at a bar and that is it." Alice breathed out in relief and looked at Ivan in thanks. He shrugged and nodded back at her. "So you are single….?" Francis asked Alice. She nodded "I guess….why?" Francis laughed and looked to Ivan "How did you meet a girl like this, so cute and innocent?" Arthur shook his head slowly and sympathized with Alice silently. Ivan put all the dishes in the sink and sat back down at the table. He glared at Francis "Look Francis, leave her alone da? I know that you will have sex with anything that walks, but please refrain from this one girl." He said warningly.

Francis smiled and got up "I guess it is time to leave, right Arthur?" Arthur stood up and looked at Alice "It was nice to meet you, Alice. Please excuse Francis'….behavior." Alice nodded and smiled at Arthur who blushed and turned away to leave. Francis winked at Alice and turned to Ivan "Talk to me outside, Ivan?" Ivan raised an eyebrow but left nonetheless. Arthur stood outside in the hallway. Francis sighed "I know you did not meet this girl at a bar." Ivan shrugged "It was a bad lie, I agree." Francis smiled "So how did you meet her then. I won't say anything; I could tell that she did not want you to tell us." Ivan sighed "Her father sold her to Gilbert. I fought him for her and brought her here. That is all."Arthur's eyes grew wide "The poor girl…"

Francis nodded "That is the whole story?" Ivan nodded impatiently "I told you that is the whole story, nothing else happened." Francis shrugged "I just wanted to know." Ivan looked at him "Well that is all there is to it." Arthur frowned "Hey boss, what are you going to do when you have to go to work...?" Ivan sighed "I have not thought about that…I don't trust her to leave her here but I obviously cannot take her to work…" Francis smiled "I can take care of her!" Arthur frowned "So you can rape her? I don't think so." Ivan looked at Francis and frowned "I don't know what else to do…Just take care of her alright?" Francis nodded happily.


	6. Arm wrestling Championship!

Hey guys! I always seem to update late...lol. JI like this chapter! It's funny. And this story is going to be mostly sad and have a lot of depressing stuff so funny stuff is good! Haha. I am showing my little sister the joys of homestuck by showing her masteryorgi's videos. J. She really likes Gamzee …. Oh and I am in a play in school. We are doing Julius Caesar and I am Brutus. J I hope you like this new chapter! J (Oh and italics mean thinking duh!) J

(disclaimer: I don't own hetalia …..but I wish I did hahahaJ )

CHAPTER 6

Ivan returned to the inside of the apartment with a pained look on his face. Alice stood awkwardly, confused as ever. She shifted from foot to foot and wrinkled her nose "Uh….Mr. Ivan…Can I uh call you that…? Anyway do you have any idea where my glasses are…I think I might have lost them here…" Ivan smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head "Oh…Yes I saw your glasses. I accidentally broke them. But do not worry I will pay for a new pair, since I did break them." Alice nodded silently "Well thanks I guess." Ivan wiped the table "I have to go to work today so is it alright if Francis watches you?"

Alice shrugged "I don't really know him…but then again I do not really know you anyway…I guess it's okay with me. He's just a little creepy…" She frowned and then looked at Ivan with a shocked expression "Wait! You are going to sell me to him or something aren't you?" Ivan frowned "I know he is a bit… promiscuous, but Francis is not that kind of man, he has no intention to hurt a lady. If I really wanted to that couldn't I have already sold you to the highest bidder? He is just an idiot; he will not hurt you." Alice looked at him suspiciously but nodded. "Well I have to get dressed. You should as well." Alice bit her lip "I kind of am already…Remember, I have no clothes?" Ivan frowned "Right. Those are probably dirty. Do you want a shirt…I may have one that could fit you…" Alice nodded

^ J ^

They left the house an hour later, with Ivan in an expensive gray fitted suit and with Alice in a white tee shirt so big that it almost went to her knees. She wore a pair of cowboy boots along with her bomber jacket. Obviously Ivan's shirts were not a good fit. He stared at her shirt-dress and Alice tried picking it up to make it shorter. It did not work. They went into the parking lot and made their way to Ivan's car.

Alice stared wide eyed at the BMW that was parked before her she looked up at him in shock "This is your car?" Ivan nodded "Da. Is there a problem?" Alice shook her head and stared at the car "No it's just….I always wanted a car like this…" He entered the car awkwardly, feeling bad for having such a nice car when she seemed so poor… She sat in the passenger seat happily, admiring how the car looked from the inside.

Ivan started the car. The ride was pretty awkward but then again, so was most of the two days they spent together… "So," Alice said awkwardly as she stared outside watching the rain fall down and splash on the windshield "what exactly is your job anyway? I mean…since you have such a nice car and your apartment is so fancy looking and stuff."

Ivan was quiet for a moment. He never really had to tell a lie about what he did for a living, since everyone he talked to knew about his occupation… He made up a lie on the spot; Ivan was never good at lying. He hoped she would believe him…"I own a…bodyguard company." Alice nodded. _She actually believed that? She is really gullible…poor girl._ He shook his head slowly and continued to drive.

^ J ^

They made their way inside with Ivan leading the way and Alice staring at the inside of the large warehouse. "Do you own this whole place?' she asked in awe. Ivan nodded "Come," he ordered when she lagged behind. They entered the elevator. Alice looked up at Ivan with a shocked expression "Wow you must be totally rich right? Damn I wish I had a car like that and an apartment like that too." Ivan nodded awkwardly; he was feeling really guilty for having such nice things when Alice was obviously not as lucky.

They exited the elevator and went to the door right in front of it. Ivan opened the door and Alice followed behind, somewhat suspiciously. She expected a bunch of tough men playing poker in the back while another group lifted weights or something….But it was nothing that she thought it was…It was just a bunch of normal men who did not look tough at all on computers while others just sat around doing nothing in particular. Alice sighed in disappointment, she really wanted to arm wrestle one of them, or maybe play poker…

They all turned and stared as Alice walked into the room. She looked down at her odd attire and frowned. She tried to pull her shirt-dress down and make it look a little more suitable. Francis was sitting on the couch in front of them, talking to Arthur loudly. Ivan behind him and cleared his throat loudly "Francis." He grumbled. Francis turned around and smiled when he saw that it was Ivan "Oh hello there mon ami!" he turned to Alice "I see you brought Alice…"

Alice frowned at him "I can fight you know, I know the streets! I've been to places you don't even wanna know about! I am a master of the streets!So you just…uh watch yourself, because I can break your face!"She ended her little speech with (what was supposed to be) a 'threatening' pose. Ivan stared at her and Francis laughed "Oh my God, Ivan where do you find girls like this?" he turned to Alice and smiled "I would never harm a lady, cher. Not to worry, you are safe."

Arthur scoffed and rolled his eyes "Yeah sure. "He interjected sarcastically "Not to worry miss, I will make sure he does not harm you. Frogs have no manners!" Alice stared at both of them like they were insane (which they were). Ivan rubbed his temples "Well then as you can see you are in barely capable hands, Alice. If you need anything, ask Eduard, he is probably the only one here who does any work other than Yao…" Eduard looked up and nodded quietly. With that Ivan left the office.

Alice stood behind Arthur and Francis, not knowing what to do. Arthur smiled and patted the seatpart of the couch next to him "You can sit here, Alice." She sat where she was told and stared at both of them; she was trying to figure out what kind of bodyguard they could be, since neither of them was in 'bodyguard' shape. They stared back, but because of an entirely different reason.

Feliks walked by but then walked back and stared when he saw Alice "Hello!" he called "I am sorry but what are you like, wearing?" Alice smiled "Oh, I don't really have clothes so Mr. Ivan gave me a shirt to wear…It's kinda big, isn't it?" The three of them laughed. Alice sat awkwardly like a child who did not understand jokes adults knew. Feliks stopped laughing and hiccupped "Of course *hiccup* it's his, its like *hiccup* a freaking dress!" The three smiled and Feliks sat down in front of Alice "I am Feliks by the way. Who are you like anyways, the bosses' new girlfriend or something? Because I totally thought he was gay…"

Alice smiled "I am Alice. No, we are not dating or anything, I just kinda live with him…I why would you think Mr. Ivan is gay?" Arthur smirked "He thinks he's gay because he never has any girlfriends at all, no dates or anything...It's a funny on-going joke, though we all know he isn't." Francis nodded his face still red from laughing. Another man walked up to them and shook his head at Feliks "Feliks don't insult the boss, what if he hears? He's really scary when he's angry. "Felkis waved him off with a flip of his hand "Oh Toris, like calm down. You are like way too uptight about everything." Toris crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes "Well fine! See if I car when he knocks you senseless." Alice started giggling and all four of the four men stared at her like she was crazy.

"I'm sorry," she said "but are you guys gay?" Toris blushed and Feliks laughed "Hell yes, I am like his freaking boyfriend!" Toris shook his head quickly and blushed redder "You are not!" Francis laughed at them and nodded to Alice, confirming that she was right. Alice looked at Arthur who shook his head "No, Francis and I? I'm not a homosexual first off and secondly even if I was, he'd be at the bottom of my list." Francis laughed "He loves me, I mean who wouldn't, I am just so sexy." Arthur hit him on the head "Shut up frog!"

Toris looked at Alice "I am sorry, I did not catch your name. I am Toris." Another man came from behind him "And I am Ravis! Hello"Alice nodded "Hi I'm Alice. No, Mr. Ivan and I are not dating. I just kinda live with him, for now. It's an odd situation…" Ravis and Toris nodded "Well, it's very nice to meet you." Toris replied. Ravis smiled and nodded. Alice furrowed her eyebrows "Hey, I have something to ask you. What kind of a man is Mr. Ivan anyway? I mean he is nice enough to me, although he's kind of cold…" All the rest of the men exchanged glances.

Francis answered first "Well," he said slowly "Ivan and I have been friends for a long time almost as long as he and Yao, so I know him well. He's a nice man, in his own way and he is cold, you're correct. But that's just his nature. Trust me, he is a good friend so he's not a bad person. He's just a little….introverted to say the least." The rest of the men nodded, that was the most flattering way to say that he was creepy, did not talk much, but was overall not a terrible person.

A moment later another man rushed in through the door. He had a long pony tail and a sweater with sleeves that were much too large, since they entirely covered his hands. He stared at all the men around the couch "What are all of you doing aru? Did the boss come yet?" Arthur nodded "Hello Yao. Did you meet Alice?" Yao looked confused and walked over to the couch. Alice waved "Hi I'm Alice." Yao nodded "Oh so you are Alice, aru. Nice to meet you, I am Yao."He stared at what she was wearing and smiled "Oh my gosh aru! You're so cute. I like to wear my shirts like that too! Loose is the best aru." Alice smiled "Well, it's not mine, It's Mr. Ivan's. He just let me wear it because I have no clothes."

^ J ^

Ivan came back four hours later to find Alice and all of the men that worked for him arm wrestling. Alice was arm wrestling Eduard who was winning, he was laughing while Francis and Feliks cheered her on and Yao clapped. Arthur was the referee and watched to make sure no one cheated. Toris and Ravis were jumping up and down and yelling for Alice to win. Alice was pushing Eduard's hand, but she wasn't strong enough to beat him. She strained to push his arm and frowned. Eduard laughed and started moving his hand to the other side slowly, pretending to lose. She pushed his hand all the way to the other side, winning and they all cheered. "You beat me." Eduard said happily "Good job." She high fived him and jumped up and down "I win!"

Yao turned around and cringed. He motioned for the others to stop what they were doing. They all turned around and cringed collectively when they saw Ivan standing there. "Hello boss." Yao said softly. The others nodded. "We were just…" Ivan cut Yao off "Arm wrestling?" Yao looked down and nodded. "You should all get back to work." He turned to leave "Come on, Alice" he called. Alice followed but stood in front of him, blocking his way. "I beat everyone except you. I challenge you to arm wrestling!" Ivan shook his head. She pouted "Oh come on Mr. Ivan, just once! I just wanna see if I'll win!" She stared at him with puppy dog eyes. He groaned "Fine." He mumbled They all cheered except for Ivan.

Ivan and Alice sat down across from each other holding their hands and resting them on the table Arthur stood in front of them "Okay…go!" Alice pushed with all her might to make his arm move down, but it was not doing a thing. She groaned and moved his arm a little. Feliks cheered. Alice smiled and kept pushing with her hand. Ivan pushed her arm all the way to the bottom, almost making her touch the table to lose. He smiled and Francis looked at him with a face as if saying "just let the girl win". Ivan pushed her arm down to the table. Alice smiled "Good job." She shook his hand and smiled.

On the drive back to his apartment Ivan looked at Alice "Were you alright today?" Alice nodded "Yeah it was fun I guess. Everyone is very nice; don't ask me how they are all bodyguards." Ivan felt like laughing but controlled himself "You were arm-wrestling the whole time?" She shook her head "No. We all talked and stuff…You're pretty strong you know. I beat all of them. But don't worry, next time I'll beat you too!" she smiled. Ivan could not help but smile back.


	7. Make a decision fast

CHAPTER 7

The next week with Ivan and Alice living together went pretty smoothly; they had started to get to know each other a little bit and the awkwardness of their (very) odd situation was slowly melting away. They had their own routine going on: Ivan made breakfast, then they went to Ivan's job where Alice stayed with Francis and the others while Ivan worked., then they went home ,ate dinner and slept. Despite the fact that Alice had no family left and no real home, she was becoming content with the fact that she was on her own.

For the first few days that she was living with Ivan she was skeptical of him and wished to go home (though she really did not have anything left at her "home"), she even cried a few times at night. But now...she was trying to look at the bright side of her situation: a nice place to live for the time being, no financial worries for now and maybe if she tried hard enough she could even become friends with Mr. Ivan.

With Ivan it was a bit different. At first he felt sorry for the girl, and though he knew pity would not help her at all, he could not help it. But, by watching her he discovered that their situations (though Ivan's was years ago) were not very different. They both had pretty bad family issues, with fathers being the core of the problem. He started to feel empathy towards her, because of her family problems. He knew what she was dealing with, because his whole family situation was not exactly perfect.

The more he was around her though, the more she reminded him of…_her_. He was a little astonished at first at how Alice and _she_ were so alike in demeanors and personality; it was actually a bit weird… But for Ivan it was like reliving the few good memories he had in the past…And even though he barely knew Alice, he was dreading the day she'd have to leave because with Alice leaving, it would be like losing _her _all over again…

^ J ^

It was a Saturday, and since Ivan had no work on that day (minus the occasional call from Francis which Ivan counted as work) he was making an actual breakfast instead of the usual toast he had every morning. Alice sat at the table, kicking her feet childishly and lifting her arms to stretch. Alice turned her head to the side and squinted her eyes "Watcha makin'?" Alice asked. Ivan flipped an omelet in the frying pan and sprinkled some cheese on the top of it "I am making omelets," he broke two eggs and started beating them" Is that okay?" he asked without turning around. Alice shrugged "Yeah sure, I'll eat anything really."

Ivan and Alice ate their breakfast, with Alice eating her omelet like she was a vacuum cleaner sucking up dirt. Ivan inwardly shook his head, he'd gotten used to Alice's eating habits, but that did not mean that he liked them. Alice finished eating and patted her stomach "Thanks," she said with a smile "you know, you can cook pretty well." Ivan finished the rest of his omelet "Thank you." He looks at Alice "Why are you squinting?"

Alice looked down at the floor "Well…uh remember you kinda…um broke my glasses and stuff?" Ivan hit his forehead "I am sorry, Alice I forgot about that. I will pay for a new pair…Can you see right now?" Alice shook her head "Uh not really…I mean you are kind of blurry and so is everything else behind you." Ivan got up to wash the dishes "We will got today then, to get you new glasses…we might as well get you some clothes too, since you have been only wearing my shirts for the past week…" Alice shrugged and smiled "Yeah sorry about that…" Ivan shook his head "It is fine. We will go after I wash the dishes."

^ J ^

The problem with Alice and shopping was that she never really shopped ever. Her father never really had enough money for food, let alone clothes so she usually just wore old clothes that were fixed or hand-me-downs. When she did have money for clothes (which was very rare) she went to the Salvation Army or the Good Will wear the clothes were in good shape and the prices were pretty cheap. So when Ivan brought her to one of the shopping areas in the Upper East Side, she stared at him like he was insane.

"Is there a problem?" Ivan asked lazily. Alice stared at the huge, beautiful stores filled with expensive-looking clothes in front of her and then she stared back at Ivan "Are we g-going shopping h-here?" she stuttered in amazement. Ivan stared at her as if she was crazy now and laughed. Alice frowned at him as he laughed harder and his face grew pink.

He stopped laughing and wiped the tears that were now in his eyes. "Are you insane?" he giggled "I don't buy anything from here, too expensive. If I don't buy anything here, why would I buy things for you here? We are just here because this is where the optometrist I go to is located" Alice felt so stupid. Why would a man she barely knew buy her expensive clothes that celebrities probably owned? "Ha-ha you're right…" she said with embarrassment. Ivan looked at her and shook his head, still giggling over the fact that she actually though that they were going to buy clothes for her _there. _

^ J ^

"You can see better now, da?" He asked Alice as they got out of the optometrist office. Alice felt the new glasses on her face, they were smaller and square, she liked them better than her old round ones. "Yeah," she said happily "Thanks for getting them for me!" Ivan waved her off "It was my fault that they broke, it was only right for me to pay for a new pair." They crossed the street, and Alice hopped from one white line to the next happily "Where are we going now?" Ivan followed her "I know of a mall not very far away that has good clothes for standard prices," he looked at the stores behind him and shook his head" not like these over-expensive stores."

Ivan and Alice reached the car, and Ivan unlocked the door, getting into the driver's seat. Alice got in as well and sat next to him. He started up the car and turned on the radio. The worst song (well Ivan's opinion AND MINE of the worst song possible XD) came on. Alice smiled "I hate this song," she said looking at Ivan's annoyed expression from the annoying tune "but it is really catchy." Alice hummed along in the beginning, but by the middle of the song, she was basically screaming the lyrics.

"HEY I JUST MET YOU, AND THIS IS CRAZY, BUT HERE'S MY NUMBER!" Alice sang along loudly "SO CALL ME MAYBE!" she smiled and bobbed her head to the music. Ivan stared at her but smiled nonetheless, he hated that stupid song, but somehow, it did make him want to sing it….He bobbed his head a little to the beat of the song and smiled. Alice noticed this and urged him to sing along as well "BEFORE YOU CAME INTO MY LIFE I MISSED YOU SO BAD! AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT, SO CALL ME MAYBE!" she sang (screamed). The song ended and she laughed. Ivan shook his head at her, but still smiled.

^ J ^

Ivan sat outside of the Macy's dressing room, impatiently. Alice had been in there for a while now….He wondered what was taking her so long. He checked his watch: it had been 10 minutes since she had gone in there. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. Finally Alice came out of the dressing room, walking arm in arm with none other than… (You guessed it) Mr. Francis Bonnefoy. "Bonjour, mon ami!" he called and waved to Ivan. Ivan facepalmed and shook his head.

Alice sat down next to Ivan and put the clothes that fit into the cart near him "Francis was in the changing room! What were the odds right?" Ivan shook his head "With Francis, the odds are larger than you think. What the hell were you doing there, Francis? Do you want to get arrested?!" Francis laughed "Calm down Ivan, I did nothing wrong!" Alice nodded "Yeah he didn't even look at me once when I was changing." Ivan eyes grew wide "Was he in the changing room with you?!" Alice rolled her eyes "Well duh, Mr. Ivan. Of course he had to or he would have gotten caught by that lady who works here." Alice looked at Francis who nodded seriously.

Ivan must have facepalmed about twenty times because his head was hurting. Alice stared at him and laughed she pointed at his head "Woah! You look like a tomato, Mr. Ivan! Well your forehead at least." Francis laughed "Qui, he does! Hey boss, can I talk to you?" Francis did not wait for an answer but instead dragged him by the scarf to another section of the department store. "Go find some more clothes, Alice." Francis called. Alice shrugged but did as she was told.

"What now, Francis?" Ivan asked with a groan. Francis smiled "Nothing. I just wanted to ask about you. And Alice. And you and Alice." Ivan frowned "Just get to the point, Francis." Francis rolled his eyes "You're no fun…" he grumbled but continued in a serious tone "You know your sister is not getting any better…in fact she has been getting worse." Ivan turned to leave, of course he knew! He saw her at the hospital every day after work, he knew the condition she was in, and he did not need to be reminded of it.

Francis grabbed Ivan's scarf "Wait. This is serious, Ivan. Just listen to me" Ivan crossed his arms but stayed "We do not have much time if you want to fulfill your promise to her, Ivan. I have been trying to set you up with women, but obviously it has not been working…" Ivan frowned "What are you saying?" Francis facepalmed "Ivan it is obvious! You need a wife; Alice needs a home and security. You need to keep a charade of a marriage while simultaneously keeping what you do a secret, Alice, the poor cute thing is oblivious enough to not even figure out about your job. This is a perfect situation, Ivan right in front of you!"

Ivan's eyes grew wide "Are you serious, Francis? I do not even know her." Francis ran his fingers through his hair, obviously exasperated "Do you think you would have known any of the other women I could have set you up with? You know her longest, she is a good girl and she will stay out of your business! We do not have time to pick and choose, and you have a great opportunity!"

Ivan shook his head "Even if I did ask her, she would never say yes!" Francis smirked at him "You obviously did not speak to her like I did, Ivan. The poor thing thinks you are her hero! She spent ten minutes just telling me how thankful she was because of you, she feels like she owes you Ivan. I know this may sound horrible, but maybe this is how she can pay you back?" Ivan was bewildered "No. I would not make her do that. She should have her own life; make her own decisions, not be stuck with me." Francis shook his head "Fine. But we don't have much time. Make a decision soon, for Katyusha's sake."


	8. The Great Escape

Hi guys!~ What's up? I am updating late again (I tried not to…but whatever, I guess that's my thing XD)! My older sister writes stories as well on fanfiction. She writes for the Harry Potter fandom and she is going to start a new story soon. She told her followers about me and my story, and now they are pinning her against me to see who will finish their story first! XD I don't know, it could go either way, she writes slower than I do, but I am going to have more chapters than she is…so who knows? Anyways, here is the next chapter: Will Alice marry Ivan? Will Ivan get the balls to ask her? Will Francis rape someone? Will theredcoon stop asking stupid questions like a soap opera? Find out next in the new installment of Rising In the Ranks! XD

CHAPTER: 8

The next day, after work, Ivan went to visit Katyusha in the hospital. "Hello Vanya." She said happily as he entered the room. Ivan smiled weakly and set down a bouquet of sunflowers, Katyusha's favorite flower. She took the flowers and looked smiled even harder. It broke Ivan's heart to see her this way, but her smile throughout all that had happened to her, amazed him. She never failed to look on the bright side of things, to see the good in people, even after all the times she was wronged… she was just a genuine person, and she liked to think everyone else was. How Ivan wished the world was that way, that the good would live happily, that everything was fair…but life was cruel and many times it had showed him that life was never fair to you.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with a forced smile. It was getting harder to act cheerful around Katyusha, especially with her illness worsening. Katyusha shrugged and set put the flowers in a vase on the nightstand near her bed. "I have been better, Vanya." She said simply. "Enough about me, Ivan. What about you, what has been happening while I've been in this wonderful place?" When she talked about the hospital she rolled her eyes sarcastically and smiled. Ivan shrugged and looked away "Nothing…" Katyusha shook her head "I'm your sister, Ivan I can tell when you're lying. Besides, Francis told me that you have a girlfriend." Ivan stared at her and inwardly cursed Francis _I am going to kill you Francis_.

He sighed "She is not really my girlfriend, just a girl who stays with me in my apartment…" Katyusha laughed "I am pretty sure that's what a girlfriend does, Ivan," Ivan shook his head and started to talk but Katyusha cut him off "It's alright if you don't want me to meet her yet, I am just happy that you are happy. It makes me feel a little better to know that my brother is taken care of…Now what was it you were going to say?"

Ivan shook his head "It was nothing important." He could not make his sister feel worse, to have her worry about him, besides it wasn't a lie per-say, Alice did live with him, go with him to work, was introduced to all of his friends, shopped with him…wasn't that what a girlfriend did? Ivan wasn't sure; he never did have a steady girlfriend…that was probably why Katyusha worried about him. Ivan kissed his sister on the cheek and hugged her; visiting hours were over, besides she needed her rest. "Come see me tomorrow, alright? And tell me about this girlfriend of yours okay?" Katyusha teased. Ivan nodded and waved goodbye.

Before leaving, Ivan decided to talk to Dr. Lewis, who was treating Katyusha. Ivan walked into his office without knocking, he didn't have to he was the biggest mob boss in New York, and was therefore entitled to the best medical care, at any hour he needed. Dr. Lewis jumped up and knocked down a stack of papers, terrified by the sudden entrance "H-hello, Mr. Braginsky… H-ow are you t-today?" he stuttered out and smiled nervously while he adjusted his glasses. Ivan was in no mood for small talk, he never was. "How is my sister?" he asked curtly.

Dr. Lewis bit his lip and gathered some papers that fell off of his desk "S-she did not t-t-tell you how she is…um d-doing?" he asked, even more scared than before. Ivan's expression softened "She won't tell me, she does not want me to worry about her…"

The doctor shuffled from foot to foot "Well, she has not been improving….in fact, she's been getting worse," with that Ivan smiled creepily, and the room suddenly felt colder "Um," Dr. Lewis continued, his voice barely above a whisper "We don't know if she will live for another year…" he looked down at the floor, afraid to make eye contact with the giant in front of him who could snap him with a twig if he wanted to.

Ivan sat down at the chair across from Dr. Lewis' desk and rested his head in his hands. His sister, his sweet sister Katyusha…dead before the year was up. She knew, she knew what was happening to her but she did not want to worry Ivan. Now, if nothing was done, she'd be gone. Never again could he talk pleasantly to her, see her smile, hear her laugh….Both were quiet for a moment.

"Is there anything else you can do?" Ivan asked softly, eyes full of sorrow. The doctor set the papers back on his desk "If we continue treatment, nothing will change. There are other things we could try…but even that would have a slim chance of working…I'm sorry." Ivan smirked at him bitterly "I don't need your sympathy. Do whatever it takes; I don't care about the cost." With that, he got up "Do you understand me?" he warned. The doctor nodded, too scared to speak.

^ J ^

Ivan drove home, thinking about his sister, about how so easily, she could just…he didn't want to think about it. He was terrified for her, there was nothing he could do…he could only stand back, as his sister, his only family left wasted away. He did not know how to live without anyone else…It was hard enough living everyday with the guilt of Natalia's death, seeing her in his dreams and crying about her, wishing that he could've done something, anything to save her…he could not live alone, with no one. His sisters were all he had…and now they'd both be gone, and there was nothing he could do to stop it….

He entered the apartment, grabbing a bottle of vodka as he entered the kitchen. It was late, so Alice was probably asleep already, not that he cared about what she was doing. He poured himself a shot and downed it, relishing the burn as he swallowed the liquor. He poured another and lifted the glass to drink it, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small picture. He set down his drink and picked up the photo gingerly.

It was of him and his two sisters. He remembered this day… It was winter and he, Natalia, and Katyusha were making snowmen together, when their mother insisted on taking a photograph of them. Ivan stood in the middle, his eyes closed, and grinning broadly. Katyusha stood next to him smiling as well, with rosy cheeks and snow in her hair. Natalia was hugging Ivan and smiling too, though hers was not as bright as her siblings. Ivan downed the drink and a tear fell on his cheek. There had to be another way….

Alice's POV

_Alice walked to her apartment in the snow, her fingers freezing, since her gloves were worn. She's have to get those sewn again…She zipped her jacket up higher and walked faster. She hoped her father was not home, he was probably drunk, and she did not feel like dealing with him right now. She grabbed her keys and unlocked the door, walked up the 3 flights of stairs that led to her 'home'. She unlocked the door and wandered in, still hoping that she would be alone… She knew she was not though. "Alice…" a voice slurred from behind. She jumped and turned around slowly, filled with fear "Leave me alone…" she whispered. He moved toward her with a look in his eyes, the same one she remembered that day…she tried to run but got nowhere, she tried to fight, but she was not strong enough, she was losing the fight. All she could do was scream, and cry for someone, anyone to help her. But no one came. She screamed the same name over and over, but she was never saved. No one was her hero…_

Alice woke up with a start and a small cry. _Just a dream, it's only a dream _she reassured herself as she sat up in the dark. She could not sleep; she had not slept for a full night for a while. It was partly because she was not used to her new surroundings, but more so because of the dreams she could not escape…The same ones played over and over again, like a broken record that she could never run away from. She could never escape…

Alice rubbed her face and noticed that she was sweating even though it was freezing inside the apartment. _Better get a drink of water to calm down _she thought as she got up and moved towards the door. She opened the door a little, but stopped when she heard a voice… "Hey, I have been thinking about what you said…" Oh, it was just Ivan. Alice did not want to interrupt him or eavesdrop. She turned to back to bed and close the door when she heard her name. "Yes…about Alice…"

She walked up towards the door and opened it a little wider to peer through. Ivan was sitting at the kitchen table, resting his head in his hand and talking on his cell phone. In front of him was a bottle of vodka, half empty and a photo. _I wonder what he's saying about me…._She strained to listen harder. "I know….I know….but this is my only option….I need to marry her…." Alice's eyes widened._ That can't be about me, right? He must mean someone else…some other girl…._ "I know…" Ivan continued "but Alice is the only one." Alice closed the door silently, that was all she needed to hear.

She sat down in bed in shock. Ivan, marrying her? Why did he have to get married so fast that he'd have to choose her? They barely knew each other! Was that the reason he saved her, to marry her later? Alice could not think straight, this was a lot of things happening at once, but one thing was clear: she was not going to be forced into a marriage with a random man she just met two weeks ago. Where would she even go? Her home? Yeah right, she would never go back there… She had no friends, so she could not stay with them…there was no where she could think of, but that did not matter. She needed to leave…maybe she could find a job, get buy a train ticket, and make her way to Canada or something?

That was later, right now she needed a plan, to leave without being noticed. Through the front door? No, she would be noticed obviously. There was no other way! Alice searched her room for anything she could pack. A jacket, a few shirts, a pair of jeans and an extra pair of shorts went into a small bag. She looked for another way out, any way that could lead her out….The window! Alice looked out of the window….It was a long way down; this was the top floor….maybe the fire escape? Alice searched but there was none…

She looked down and saw that there was a small backyard with a tree right near them….maybe she could climb down something to reach the tree….but what? She remembered a child's shown in which the main character left his house using a rope made of sheets….She hoped it would work. Alice tied the sheets together and secured it to the bedpost on the bed. She slowly climbed down, inching her way down the home-made rope. _Don't worry, you are the hero! Heroes never die like this…they die heroically… _

Alice reached the end of her rope (literally) and let go, hoping that she'd land in the tree a few feet below. She fell into the tree, scratching her face and hurting her arm. She grabbed onto a branch tightly and thanked God that she lived. She jumped down and fell into the grass. With a last glance at the apartment behind her, she left into the night, uncertain of where she'd go or how she would live.

Oh yeah! :D Another longer chapter for you! I was going to make it even longer….but I will save that for next week. ;D So how do you like this cliffhanger, huh? Will Alice find a place to go? Will Ivan find a girl to marry? Will Felik come out of a closet in a dress? Wait for next week's installment of: Rising in the Ranks (Okay I will stop with the soap opera crap). XD Hope you liked this chapter! And thanks for reading and favoriting and all that jazz!


	9. A Good Bet

Hey guys, I am really feeling sick…so I am not sure if this chapter will be done by the time Saturday comes….If it's not up on Saturday, this is why. If it is up, then I am feeling well enough to do something other than sleep. XD Anyways, here's the next chapter…Sorry that I am not having my usual funny banter in the beginning (not sure if anyone even reads the beginnings of my chapter…I pretend that you do! XD) but I am not really feeling up to it. Glub! 38( that was a fish pun by the way, you get a virtual cookie if you know who says stuff like that! (Italics mean thinking!) (and Italians mean that there's pasta!~)

CHAPTER: 9

(Alice's POV)

Alice shivered in the cold and wrapped her arms around herself tighter to keep warm. It really was a stupid idea to leave in the middle of the night, in winter, without a coat, wearing only her pajamas but then again that's Alice for you. She never really thought things through…She walked briskly down the street, not exactly sure where she was going. She didn't care where she was going to go, she just wanted to leave. She could not believe what she heard Ivan saying, and a part of her wished that she had not. _At least I'd still be somewhere warm... _she thought as she passed by an apartment building near a bus stop. Was this the reason why he took her in? But why marry her? It did not seem that he wanted to marry her…So why did he even have to marry someone? It made no sense to Alice and she decided to stop thinking about it.

Alice sat down at the front of the apartment and zipped up her thin sweater. _Maybe I have enough for a fare…_She prayed that she did as she dug into her pockets, searching for any money at all. No such luck. She sighed and stuck her hands back into her pockets. _Even if I did have money, where would I go? _That scared her the most, because once again she was back where she started: alone, lost, and nowhere to go…Alice laughed bitterly _I always end up this way…_

She tried warming her hands but it was of no use, she was ice cold. Alice frowned and searched for somewhere warmer, looking up and down the street for a store or house where she could stay out of the cold for a little while. Alice looked to her right. A few buildings down was a lounge or bar of some sort. The windows were glowing yellow from the lights and Alice could hear people inside talking loudly. …_It seems warm in there…Maybe they won't mind if I go in for a little while? _

She got up and walked over to the lounge. Swallowing a lump in her throat, and hoping that they would not ask for ID, she opened the door and made her way inside. She looked hastily from left to right, hoping that she did not look out of place though she knew that she did. _How could a teenager in pajamas NOT look out of place in an adult lounge?! _A few people stared at her attire, but went back to drinking and talking almost instantly, not caring about the strange girl in pajamas.

Alice tried blending in with the crowd, but a girl in Superman Pajamas in a lounge stuck out like a sore thumb. A tall man in a black shirt with an annoyed look on his face walked up to her. Alice tried walking out of the way but the man stopped her "Can I see ID please?" he held out his hand waiting for her to give him the card. She looked at him sheepishly and scratched the back of head "Um…ID? Oh yeah, I uh…left it at home." She felt like smacking herself:_ Worst lie ever! _The man looked down at her doubtfully "I think you should get out of her, little girl." He ordered. Alice pouted, looked down and started to walk away slowly.

"Wait!" a voice called to out. Alice turned around, confused as to who was calling her. Francis walked up to her with a smile on his face. "What are you doing here, Alice? Did you come to see me?"" he asked seductively with a wink. Alice frowned "No…I'm just trying to stay warm." Francis stared at her, confused. The tall man in the black shirt walked up to Francis "Excuse me sir, do you know her?" he crossed his arms and glared at Francis, who didn't seem to notice or care.

"Yes, she's with me. Is there a problem?" Francis smirked at him, almost begging the man to challenge him. The man glared at the both of them "No sir." He grumbled. "Good. Come Alice." Francis took her hand and led her away from the man, who Alice could have sworn she heard curse under his breath. Francis led her to a more secluded couch near the back of the lounge. He sat down and patted the space next to him, signaling for her to sit as well. She sat down feeling uncomfortable in the crowded lounge, with people staring at her even more now that Francis was inviting her to sit with him. He noticed this and smiled "Yes I come here often."

As soon as she sat down, a tall waitress with red curly hair and freckles came over with a smile. "Would you like anything, sir?" she asked happily. She blushed a little when she saw it was Francis and tried hiding her face. He winked at her and smiled "Bonjour Candice," she blushed darker when he said her name. Alice rolled her eyes. "Yes, I would just like a glass of my usual wine and…" he turned to Alice "What about you, Alice? Would you like some wine as well? This lounger serves only the best." Alice shook her head "I'm not legal…" Francis laughed at her "So? Fine, she will have hot chocolate…You said you were cold right?" Alice nodded. Francis turned back to the waitress "Hot chocolate then." She nodded, and still blushing left quickly to relay the order.

Francis turned back to Alice and crossed one leg over the other "So, what are you really doing here, Alice?" She shrugged "I'm not really sure, I just came here because it looked warm here…" Francis waved her comment off "Yes I know, I know. But why are you out so late, and in this?" he exclaimed pointing to Alice's pajamas. "What is Ivan doing, letting you wander around like this?" Alice was not sure if she should tell Francis about what she overheard; she did not even know the whole story herself…but what harm could be done by telling Francis? He was nice to her and there was no reason not to trust him…plus she really just wanted to talk to someone right now, to get her feelings off of her chest and to have someone listen to her.

She bit her lip and looked at Francis who nodded for her to tell him. "Well, I could not sleep, so I got out of bed to get water. When I got up, I heard Ivan say my name. I was interested, so I kept listening." Francis stared at her but nodded for her to go on _Maybe she has not heard the whole thing…she obviously does not know it was me on the phone with Ivan…_he thought. Alice continued "It turns out that he was talking to someone about marrying me! I was so surprised, I mean, I don't want to marry anybody, plus I don't even know him! How could he even think that? I wonder why he wanted to...It's just all so strange…" she paused for a moment "So I climbed out of the window and walked here. But I got cold so I came inside…" she finished her story with a sigh.

Candice the waitress came and handed Alice and Francis their drinks. Francis flirted with her for a while and she stuttered back nervously. Francis turned back to Alice "You really are in an odd predicament, Alice. But, I assure you, that anything unseemly you think Ivan would have done to you would never have happened. I'm sure you've noticed, he's simply not that kind of man." He shrugged and sipped his wine slowly. Alice frowned "What are you saying, Francis?"

He set his glass down "Nothing, mon amour, I am just saying that he would have not done anything bad to you." Alice frowned again "But that doesn't even matter. I don't want to marry him, so I shouldn't have to. I'm too young for that kind of stuff! Plus it's weird and I don't even want to think about it…" she took a sip of her hot chocolate and grimaced as she burnt her tongue. Francis laughed "I never said that you should marry him. It's your life, Alice, live it how you please. I just think that he deserves to be told to his face, no?"

Alice shrugged "I think he'll get the message when I'm not there tomorrow." Francis shook his head and smiled "You can be very cruel, Alice." She stared at him with a shocked look "Excuse me, but I have a right to do what I want, I am a grown woman!" she sat up proudly and stuck her nose in the air. This all looked very funny to all who were watching, considering that she looked so young and was wearing Superman pajamas. Francis laughed "You sound like any naive teenager." Alice was embarrassed by the looks on everyone's faces, laughing and grinning at her. She got up to leave "Well then. I guess we are done with this little talk. I'm going to go now. Thanks for the hot chocolate!" she started walking away. Francis got up and gave everyone a look that said 'Teenagers, am I right?' he rushed over to her and stopped in front of her, blocking her way.

"Oh come on, Alice. I didn't mean it. I was a teenager once too, I understand that you want to be independent and all of that, but you can't take care of yourself like this. Where are you going to go?" Alice frowned and crossed her arms. Though she did not want to admit it, Francis was right, she had no plans whatsoever as to where she would go and how she'd get there. She pouted and hung her head "I don't know…" Francis put his arm around her "Alice I understand that you may not want to marry Ivan, fine. But you can't leave like this. You have no plans, no money, what are you going to do? Plus, it's not fair to Ivan, who has been taking care of you without even knowing you! You said he saved your life, no?"

Alice nodded "Well," Francis continued "You at least owe him to tell the truth. Wait a few days, if he asks you, tell him how you feel. Make a real plan, and then if you are totally sure, go off on your own. But I cannot sit back and let you leave, just to be lost, or all alone, or worse." Alice nodded "Fine, I'll do as you say, but I'm still leaving." She sighed "You're probably right anyway, I didn't really think this all through…I guess I was just really scared." Francis smiled and grabbed his coat "Come on, I'll walk you back to Ivan's apartment. It's too late for you to be out like this."Alice followed him as they left the lounge. "You know, there's a reason why Ivan has to get married, Alice." He said seriously as they started walking back the way Alice left.

"What is it? I knew that was really weird…" Francis shook his head "I don't have the right to tell you, but know that it's something really important to Ivan and it's nothing bad. I just thought you'd like to know that you're right when you thought that there was a reason for him to get married so suddenly." Alice wondered why but decided not to ask Francis, since he seemed pretty set on not telling her. They walked up the street briskly, both of them wanting to get away from the cold. Alice was freezing, and could not keep herself from shivering as the cold wind blew right at her.

He stared at her "Alice, you look freezing! Where's your coat? Did you leave it at the lounge?" Francis asked. Alice shook her head "I didn't have one to being with." Francis breathed in and sighed. He took off his coat and put it on Alice who tried to give it back. Francis gave her a stern look, making her quiet. "You're freezing Alice! Your face is bright red from the wind and your fingers are as cold as ice." She started to protest, but Francis put his finger on her cold lips. "Now don't say anything, I am fine." He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued walking away. Alice blushed and ran after him. She smiled "Thanks, Francis."

He smiled back "I could never let you freeze in this weather…You're welcome." They continued walking "You know," Francis continued "It would not be such a bad idea to marry Ivan, Alice. He's a good man, he already takes good care of you, and he can support you…" Alice frowned "No Francis, don't you understand? That's not even a real marriage. Both people must want to get married, and from what Ivan said, he doesn't seem like he wants to either. Besides I would never marry for money, what do you think I am a goldigger?" Francis smiled "I'm sure there's something you need or want? He'll have no problem doing what you ask; he's no poor man as you've noticed." Alice stopped in her tracks. Anything she wanted? _Could he maybe…find someone…?_ _No, he couldn't…could he?_

"Alice?" Francis called. Alice got out of her daze and ran to catch up with him. They were silent the rest of the way. Francis tried to pick up a conversation with her again, but she seemed preoccupied so he stopped trying. They walked up to the front of Ivan apartment building. Alice stared at Francis "What now? He's not going to be awake…And I don't have keys... Do you?" Francis shook his head "Don't worry, I'll just ring the bell." Alice bit her lip and shook her head "Won't he be mad at me?" Francis laughed" He won't be mad at you if I'm here, trust me. I've known Ivan for a long time, so I know how to deal with him." They entered the building, which was opened for them by the maintenance man who luckily for them, was running late. He did not recognize them, so he made them ring the bell, after Francis insisted that it was an emergency. Francis rang for Ivan to open the door while Alice waited near him, not exactly anticipating Ivan coming down and seeing her out so late. Francis gave her a reassuring smile.

Ivan came down the stairs after a few minutes, very confused and angry from being woken up in the middle of the night. When he saw it was Francis, he glared at him and rubbed his temples. "What the fuck are you doing here Francis?" Francis smiled and pushed Alice in front of him "Returning _this _to you." Alice smiled sheepishly "Uh…hey Mr. Ivan…Sorry for waking you up." He looked at her with a confused expression "Alice what are you doing out so late…?" Alice bit her lip and looked to Francis who answered "It was me, Ivan. I wanted to hang out with Alice for a while; I mean she's just so cute." Alice raised her eyebrows but nodded, confirming Francs' statement.

Ivan crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head "Francis you are an idiot. Leave the poor girl alone." He looked at Alice "Don't listen to anything he says, Alice. Francis is…he's just Francis, okay?" he started walking up the stairs and Alice followed. Before she left she mouthed a thank you to Francis who smiled and waved.

Francis' POV

It was easier than he thought to get her to re-think running away…Alice really was a naïve little girl. He really thought that it would have been harder, he was almost disappointed… "Oh well." He said out loud as he hailed a taxi and slid inside, giving the address of his apartment. He stared out of the window and smiled. Ivan would be proposing to her soon, as planned. He just needed a push, and Francis had to be the one to push him in the right direction. And Alice…well she was just too cute and innocent for her own good. He was not lying when he admitted to Ivan how cute she was…It was pretty funny making her angry. He chuckled to himself. Still, she was just too ignorant. He sighed. Ivan would have to look after her… Francis could tell that Ivan would think about Francis' suggestion; he had a knack for things that had to do with love. He'd even bet they'd be married very soon…And if there was one thing Francis was good at, it was betting.

Well, that's the end of chapter 9! This one is almost 3,000 words people! IT'S OVER 2,000! (Yes, that was a horrible reference and no, I do not regret it.)Sorry that I did not put it up yesterday (I'm writing this ending part today) but I am feeling slightly better, so I took advantage and finished it. Thanks for all your reviews and favorites and stuff! You guys rock! :D


	10. Vodka and Hot Chocolate

Hey guys! Another chapter! *cue dance party with strobe lights and me as the DJ* Anyways, I don't want to sound like a have a million followers for this story, but I have like 23 (or something like that) and it has not even started yet! This is so awesome since this is my first fic! I thought that this was going to suck so much. But apparently you guys like this! So thanks dudes, you guys are awesome! So high five yourselves or something cuz you have made me a very happy girl indeed. (Okay that was a little creepy…I'm gonna shut up now…) Here's the next chapter of Rising in The Ranks!

(Italics mean thinking)

CHAPTER 10

^ J ^(Alice's POV)^ J ^

Alice followed Ivan up the stairs silently, hoping that he wouldn't ask any more questions about why she was out so late. Ivan was either too tired to care or just not interested because he did not say anything at all, which did not matter since Alice was not in the mood for talking, she had a lot on her mind. Ivan nodded to her and mumbled a quick 'Good night' before leaving to his room.

Alice stood, frowning and confused _He didn't even ask why I was gone? What the hell? _She shook her head and shrugged, it was better for her anyway; she was never very good at lying and without Francis making clever lies up on the spot, she did not think she would be able to tell a good convincing alibi. _Oh well…_ She yawned and walked to the guest bedroom that she had been sleeping in for the past two weeks.

Alice looked at herself in the mirror. She was still wearing Francis' jacket._ I'll have to give that back to him…_ she took it off and out it on her chair, as a reminder to return it to him. Alice turned off the lights in the room and sat down in the bed. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Francis was right when he said that she needed a plan, but what could that be?

Alice huffed and tried thinking of a plan…It was hard. On one hand she had the option to leave in a couple of days, but this plan had many holes. Where would she go? How would she make money? Where would she stay? All of these questions kept coming up in her mind, and no matter what, she could not find a suitable answer for any of them.

_Maybe I could get a job here…I've had a few jobs before…But then where would I live, on the streets? No… Maybe I could move in with someone…But who would want to take me in? Or maybe I could go find some relatives…? _Alice laughed to herself at that last thought; she was not even sure why she had thought of that. She had no family, and even if she did, she definitely would not want to live with them…

_On to the next plan…_Another option Alice had was to stay with Ivan, it was the safest- and she had to admit- most appealing plan. But, what if he asked her to marry him? What would she do, say no? She laughed bitterly. _Yeah sure…I'd be right out on the streets… _But if what Francis said was true, Ivan would be able to help her. He had money of course, more of it than Alice could ever need…

Maybe he could help her find someone… Alice shook her head, there was no use getting her hopes up. _It's too good to be true, things like this don't happen, at least not to me…But what if? _This one question was the one that bothered her most of all. What **if **he could help her? It seemed probable…after all, Ivan was a good guy. What bad guy would be this nice to her, buy her clothes and let her stay in his home?

She just did not know if marrying him was right, actually she knew that it was not. Marriage was a thing people in love did after being in a relationship, preferably for a long time. She was definitely not in anything close to a relationship with Ivan, she barely knew him! And she knew for a fact that they did not love each other. _Would I really marry someone for a possibility? _Alice did not know…

She would keep living with him without a second thought if she would never be at risk of marrying him… Alice groaned. _Why does it have to be marriage! Why can't he just need a freaking maid or something, I'd fucking do that! Or fucking anything! _She groaned again and frowned and looked at the clock on her bedside table. It read 3:38 A.M. She sighed; it was going to be a long night….

^ J ^ (Ivan's POV) ^ J ^

Ivan rolled over in bed and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table. It read 3:38 A.M. He'd been trying to sleep for an hour, with no success. All he could do was toss and turn and think about things he wished he could stop thinking about… _Francis is an idiot, if he had not told me about Alice as an option, I would have never thought of it! _He groaned and sat up, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his head in his hands. He knew it was not really Francis' fault…he just had so many problems...

_Katyusha is sick and there's nothing I can do to help her…I just want to make her better, but I can't do anything but stand by and watch as she gets worse…_ That was the worst thing, feeling helpless. He felt like that when he was a child, he felt like that when Natalia died, and now he felt helpless, not being able to do anything for Katyusha…Ivan rubbed his forehead and sighed. He tried to stop thinking about Katyusha's illness, because it was just making him feel worse. Instead he thought about another problem in his life… the whole marriage issue.

He loved his sister and he would do anything for her but, why did it have to be so hard to find someone to marry? It did not help that Francis' little 'suggestion' was keeping him awake at night. He needed to get married fast, and even though he hated to, he had to admit that Francis' idea was pretty logical. He had a girl right in front of him, one that was not **terrible**, one who would be pretty easy to fool… but he just could not bring himself to do it. He doubted that she would even say yes anyway. _If I was her, I would never agree to marry me…_

He started thinking of Katyusha; it made him happy and sad at the same time. He remembered so many memories they shared, with Natalia and their mother… he'd give anything for all of them to be together again… He smiled as he remembered him and Natalia playing while their mother braided Katyusha's hair and hummed happily. He remembered as if it were yesterday, his mother's singing and Katyusha's radiant smile, his little sister's giggles as they knocked down the small house of blocks they built… Why couldn't things just stay the same forever? Why did everyone he ever loved have to get hurt?

Ivan stopped thinking about those things and looked at the clock again: 3:54 A.M. He sighed, there was no point in trying to sleep, he knew that he'd never be able to. He heard a creak in the hallway._ What was that? Oh right…probably Alice going to the bathroom or something… _He yawned. Now he was back to thinking about Alice. He knew he had to make a decision, preferably fast.

He hated thinking about things like this. If there was ever a time for a drink, this was it. Ivan got up and made his way to the small bar he had near his kitchen. He searched for the switch and turned on the light. He was surprised to see Alice, sitting at the breakfast table near the kitchen, drinking a cup of what looked like coffee. She was startled when the lights were turned on and smiled sheepishly when she saw that it was him."Sorry," she said quietly "I couldn't sleep, usually hot chocolate puts me to sleep… you know, because of the warm milk and stuff. Did I wake you up?"

Ivan shook his head "No, I guess I could not sleep as well…" He walked over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of the first alcohol he saw-which turned out to be vodka- and a shot glass. He sat down next to Alice and opened the bottle, pouring some into his small glass before tilting his head back slightly and drinking the whole of it in one gulp. He grimaced slightly as the alcohol burned his throat and wiped his mouth. Alice blew on her hot chocolate and took a small sip before grimacing as the hot drink burned her mouth. She set the cup down and rested her head in her hand.

"So, what's been keeping you up?" she asked, trying to make the whole scene less awkward for the both of them. Ivan shrugged "Too many things…You?" Alice did the same shrug "Too many things I guess." She smiled a little and blew on her hot chocolate again. "My auntie used to make me hot chocolate the old fashioned way, grinding it and all…" she said quietly to no one in particular. She looked at her hot chocolate like it was the aunt she was talking about. "My mother used to do the same for me, it was…nice." He smiled a little when he thought of his mother.

He took another shot and set the glass down slowly. He ran his finger over the rim of the glass. If there was ever a time to ask someone to marry you, this would be the worst time, but for Ivan it felt like now or never. He needed to do this, for Katyusha, for himself. Even if it would make her happy for only a minute, he would do it. He hoped that Alice would say yes but he knew that his chances were slim. Still, he needed to do this. He looked up at Alice, who looked back with big blue eyes. He breathed in deeply and took another shot quickly for liquid courage. He set the glass down and looked at her again "Alice."

She looked back at him "Yeah?" He sighed "Can I ask you something?" Alice's heart skipped a beat_ Holy fuck; he's going to ask me to marry him isn't he?! Holy shit holy shit holy shit…._ She chanted the same thing in her head over and over. Any ideas and plans that she had flew out of the window, because her head was a mess. She did not know what to say or do, and her beat faster, for fear and anticipation at the same time. He inhaled deeply as if this was the last breath he'd ever take.

"You don't have to say yes, and this is not because I am drunk…because I am not…" _Great speech. _ "But..." he cleared his throat. _Just say it quickly, get it over and done with. _"Would you…um…marry me?" Alice's eyes gore wide. _She's going to say no, I knew it…_ Alice could not think of anything to say, if she ever had any plan (which she doubted) as to how she would respond if Ivan ever did ask her to marry him, it was gone now. She felt like she could not speak, and even if she could, nothing would come out, since she had no idea to respond.

Ivan waved her off "It's fine, I was asking a stupid question. I understand that you-"Alice could not hear him, she was not even sure of what she was thinking, but she knew she had to do something. She felt like she was watching herself, all wide-eyed and confused. She was watching herself, like how a movie-goer watches a horror film, anticipating the killer to show up and screaming for the heroine to run away. Alice felt like yelling at herself to say something, anything. _SAY NO!_

"I am sorry for having to put you in a position like this, and I-"Alice cut him off and said the first thing that came to mind: "YES." She said loudly. Ivan looked at her as if she was insane "Wait what?" Alice frowned _I said YES?! _"I said yes. You asked if I would marry you, so yes." She nodded to show how sure she was (which she could not believe she was doing). She felt like this would be the time in the movie where the audience face palmed.

Ivan still looked confused "Well…Thank you, for not saying no, I think." Alice nodded "You're welcome, I guess." They were both quiet for a time span that felt like forever. Alice broke the silence "So…uh what we are supposed to do…?" Ivan brushed his fingers through his hair "Figuring out the date would probably be first. I'd like to do this as soon as possible." Alice frowned "Um…sure I guess. It's not like it matters anyway." Ivan nodded "Good. Then I will set it for next week." Alice's eyes grew wide "Don't you have to plan everything? Like the guests and the place and the food and stuff?" Ivan nodded "I will have that done."

Alice nodded "Okay then…" They were both quiet again. Ivan got up and put the bottle of vodka away and placed his and Alice's sups in the sink. "I think I'll try to sleep now…" Ivan said slowly. Alice nodded in agreement "Yeah, I'll uh...I'll do that too." Ivan got into his room and rubbed his face. He could not believe what had just happened. Alice sat down on her bed and covered her face with her hands. She hoped she did the right thing.


	11. So Odd

OMG GUYS I AM SO SORRY! I forgot today was Saturday! I am updating **UBER** late, I know, BUT I have a good excuse: I did not have school for a week so my brain is confused. I don't know what day it is…Hell, I don't know what I ate for breakfast! This whole "hurricane" situation is really annoying me. It took out my power for a few days, I had NO Halloween, I missed an awesome party, and I lost my I-pod (AGAIN), and I am pretty sure that my school is underwater right about now… So I have had a lot of things happen to me…..Good excuse? XD This chapter may not be as good as I want it to be considering that I must rush to meet a 12:00 (a.k.a. next day Sunday) deadline. If I don't I get guilty.

Oh, in different fandom news: I am going to cosplay as someone from homestuck! I think it will be a very nice cosplay, I just need to figure out who exactly I am cosplaying as! XD I am stuck between: Jade (this will be SO easy since I look like her), Feferi (I kind of look like her too, and she's my patron troll so I want to dress like her) and Vriska (me and my little sister were going to cosplay as the scourge sisters so this one is good too…). What do you guys think? I don't know if any of you like homestuck…If you do, send me a PM, I have not talked to anyone about HS on fanfic yet, so I'd like to! If you don't know what the hell I am talking about (people: :O redcoon we don't care, show us the fanfic already!Why are you even posting these? No one reads them! Me: I know… ) I suggest you try and read it! ^ J ^

But I digress; here is the new installment of: Rising in The Ranks!

CHAPTER 11

(Alice's POV)

Alice woke up the next day, feeling extremely tired form worrying all night about her decision. She still was not exactly sure if she actually accepted a proposal from the man she just met. It seemed like a dream and a part of her wished it was. Alice was not sure what she was thinking when she said yes. She thought back to last night…._Oh right…I was thinking of my family, well at least what's left of it. _She groaned and hit herself on the forehead for making such a huge decision while being half asleep. _Why would you say yes?! You could have found him all by yourself! Now you are stuck in this! What are you going to do now?! _Alice hit her forehead again harder and winced form the pain.

"_Maybe it was all a dream?_"She thought hopefully. She got up slowly and walked towards the door to leave her bedroom. She opened it slowly and peered into the hallway. For some reason she was a little scared… _What the hell am I doing?! What do I expect; a ghost to come out? _No one was there. Alice exhaled loudly and frowned. _Some hero you are. Who's afraid of waking up?! _Alice walked through the hallway._ Maybe it really was some sort of dream or something!_ She was hoping that it was.

But another, very small part wished that it really did happen. She wanted find him, she needed to. With Ivan's help it could be possible, because to be truthful, she'd made no progress whatsoever in the four years since he'd left. This was the reason Alice said yes, and it was the most important reason in the whole world. She knew that she might not even find him, or worse, something could have happened to him. Even with a private investigator, there was a chance that she'd never find him. But Alice needed to, even if the chances were slim, even if she had to sacrifice everything for him, she'd find him. This hope is all that had been keeping her spirits up for the past four years, the dream that had been keeping her determined.

Alice walked into the living room and saw Ivan reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. He looked up at her when he heard her walk in. She sighed _Of course it's not a dream…_He smiled at her in a way that was creepy and inviting at the same time and beckoned for her to come over. _The fuck is he smiling at me for?! That's creepy as hell! _Alice walked over to him and sat on the couch nearest to him. "Hi… Uh…Not to sound bossy or anything…but don't you have work or something?" she mumbled. He set his newspaper down and took a sip of his coffee. Alice just stared at him, waiting for him to say anything. He set the steaming mug down and looked at her seriously. "Da, good morning. You're right, I do. I just needed to take care of something before I left." Alice raised her eyebrows slightly in a questioning manner. He reached out for a paper on the coffee table in front of him. He smiled and handed it to her. Alice frowned and looked at the paper as if it were a snake, ready to bite. He kept smiling, but Alice could tell that he was losing his patience "Take it." He ordered in a happy voice. Alice reluctantly took the paper.

It was a long, typed paper. It read: Marriage Contract. Alice looked up at him with the same questioning look as before "What is this?"Ivan was still smiling "It would help if you read it." He answered mockingly. Alice glared at him and read the paper…It was talking about rules and conditions for the marriage. _This really isn't a dream, is it? _ Alice finished reading it and set it down on the table. She frowned at him "So you made a contract to say what we can and can't do?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "You finished reading it?" Alice nodded "Good. Then let me elaborate, you are to make this marriage look real. We must appear as if we actually love each other. Understand?" Alice looked at him, confused. "Why? I am pretty sure that it'll be pretty obvious that you have no feelings for me." His smiled vanished and his face took on a look of seriousness "I have my reasons." She was still interested but decided not to ask any more questions.

"Though this marriage is a fraud, I will not have you make a fool out of me, so obviously cheating is not allowed." _That's easy. I don't like dating anyway; hell I've never even had a boyfriend! _Alice smirked and nodded once again. "Good," he smiled and continued "If you follow these rules, I will take care of you. You will stay here, have everything paid for that you need, and be stable and looked after. All I ask is that you respect me and I will do the same with you. Also, to be clear, this marriage is absolutely fake. I have no interest in you whatsoever, so there will be no love in this relationship, understand?"

Alice smirked and nodded._ That will be the easiest part._ Ivan smiled back coldly and got up. "Good, then just sign it and I will be on my way." He handed her a pen. Alice got up as well "Wait. I have a condition too." Ivan looked at her skeptically. "What is it?" he asked slowly. Alice quickly scribbled on the back of the document and handed it back to Ivan. He looked at her with the same skeptical expression she had but took it anyway. He read it quickly and looked up at her, he opened his mouth to speak, but Alice stopped him.

"Let me explain. I need to find someone, someone who I have not seen for a long time. If you will help me find him, I will marry you. That is my only condition." She looked at him with a serious expression. Ivan could tell that she was resolute. "Fine, I will help you. Who is it that you are looking for?" Alice looked down "It's personal." Ivan nodded; he had enough experience with strictly personal issues and knew not to ask.

He grabbed the document and scribbled his signature. He handed it to Alice and she did the same. He took the contract and slipped it into his pocket; he grabbed his coat and headed for the door. Alice sighed in relief and sat down again. Ivan stopped before reaching the door and turned to look at Alice "I forgot to tell you, Feliks will be coming over to take you shopping for things for the wedding. The wedding is next Friday." With that said, he left. Alice's eyes grew wide. "Friday?" she mumbled out loud. She knew she'd have to marry Ivan, that _is _what she agreed to. She just did not think it would come so quick. She rubbed her forehead; Friday was less than a week away!

Alice did not know much about weddings, only what she saw on T.V. and in movies, but she knew weddings had to be planned out and this planning out took much longer than a week. There were a lot of things that had to happen: people had to be invited, a place would have to be found to have the wedding at, there were flowers, the cake, the dress, tuxedos, groomsmen, bridesmaids, and an after party of some sort. How would all this be done in a week?!

Ivan's/Francis' POV

Ivan entered the outer office, where his men were doing their own jobs; all were attending to their business while Francis was sitting on the couch drinking coffee, with his feet on the coffee table. Ivan sighed _Of course he's not doing anything. He is Francis ._He grinned when he saw Ivan "Hey boss!" Ivan nodded and sat down next to him. He sighed and put his head in his hands. Francis half smiled and took his feet off of the table. He looked at Ivan and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you? You look even worse than normal!"

He laughed at his own little joke and patted Ivan on the back. Ivan glared at him "A lot has happened Francis… Thanks to your stupid advice, I asked Alice to marry me." Francis' face turned into a frown._ That is why he's so sad _Francis concluded. "So she said no?" Francis could have sworn that his prediction would be true…he was never wrong about these things. Ivan shook his head "That is what I was expecting. She said yes." Francis' easygoing smile returned. He knew he was right; it was obvious that Ivan would ask her and it was obvious that she'd say yes. _It was almost too easy to make those two do things. _He thought with a little smirk.

"So why are you stressed, Ivan? You got what you wanted. You actually did better than I thought you would! I expected you to marry a cat woman, you should be happy that you got Alice, at least she's sexy, even though she as naïve as it gets." He finished with another smirk when he thought of Alice. He felt a little sorry for her; he knew that Ivan would never love her…not like he probably could. He laughed inwardly _Poor little Alice, she really does not know what she is getting herself into… _He almost wanted to tell her about Ivan. _No, let Ivan do what he wants with her, it's none of my business._

"It would have been easier if she said no. Now, I have to deal with her." Francis smiled "But you too have been getting along fine." Ivan shook his head and rubbed his face "She just…reminded me of someone. I almost thought Alice was her for a while. They were so much the same. You remember Francis," Francis nodded. It was true, they did act the same, and it was strange how alike they were. "I tricked myself into thinking it was her for a while…But I know that Alice is not her." Francis knew he was going into forbidden territory by talking about her, so he decided to change the subject. "So, what about this wedding? How is everything happening?" Ivan looked at him and smirked "I got Feliks to take care of that."

Alice's POV

"OW!" Alice pushed against the wall in pain and banged on it with her fist. Feliks groaned "Oh come on! Like, this does not even hurt!" Alice shrieked "Fuck! Maybe not for you! Do you want to be in my position?!" She glared at him and then shrieked in pain again "Ow! Do you want to snap me in half or something?!" He rolled his eyes "I have like, done this a million times! You can't snap in half, that's like impossible!" She glared at him again "It fucking feels like it! OW!" He laughed "I am almost done!" He pulled outwards and Alice breathed inwards sharply.

Feliks sat down; he was breathing heavily and ran his fingers through his hair "That was not so bad was it?" Alice glared at him "Yeah it did! It hurt a fucking lot! And we have to do this again, won't we?" He laughed again "Only if you want to. We could maybe, like do something else and do this again later, when you're not whining so much." She stuck her tongue out at him and looked in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and her face was red from not breathing. But other than that she looked beautiful.

It was a pain to put on that dress and Feliks pulled on the strings in the back of the gown until Alice thought her ribs would break. It was a pain to breathe, and both of them were tired from getting her into the dress, but it did look good on her. The ruffles and sash accented her hips and even though the bodice felt like it was going to make one of her lungs collapse. She spun around and smiled as the dress swirled around her. Feliks clapped "You look gorgeous!" Alice smiled "Really?" Feliks nodded "yeah, but this is not the right dress, you could look so much better." Alice stared at him "Really, all that for nothing?"

Feliks nodded "I will not stop until I find a dress that is perfect for you!" Alice shrugged "Let's hope this hurts less taking it off than putting it on." Feliks loosened the corset in the back of the bodice and Alice threw off the dress. "Ahhhhh…." Alice breathed in and out heavily in relief. She then turned to Feliks who was watching her with a smile. "Uh what are you doing?" Feliks cocked his head to the side "Huh? Oh nothing, just watching you." Alice frowned "That's creepy. Can you go, I have to change and this show ain't for free." Feliks laughed "Yeah sure."

He left the dressing room and waited outside, where an older woman was waiting. She was blushing and stared at him"Is that your fiancé in there?" Feliks shook his head and smiled "No, just a friend." Alice got out of the dressing room with a frown "Let's get out of here before you try to split me in half again." She rubbed her back "Fuck my back hurts." She looked at him and laughed "Gross, you're all sweaty." Feliks wiped his forehead "Like duh! That dressing room was not made for two people! It was hard enough without you shrieking and whining every five seconds!" She rolled her eyes "At least I wasn't groaning like you were! Anyway, let's go." The old woman stared at the both of them and then got an instant nosebleed.

Feliks and Alice laughed as they left the store. "Did you see that woman?!" Alice asked in between laughs. Feliks nodded and laughed "Like this was her:" he stared as she did and raised his hands to his nose, mimicking wiping up a nosebleed. They laughed until people stared. Alice put her arm over his shoulder "I have a feeling that this will be a good friendship." Feliks laughed "Totally."

There you go, It's almost 2:00 AM. Are you happy?! I am now going to sleep.


	12. French Memories

Hey people. If any of you guys were wondering…My school did not suffer too much damage. But a lot of my classmate's houses are flooded, without power, without heat, and some don't even have houses anymore. So yeah…

I don't mean to be a downer. I wish I had more to talk about, It just feels incomplete if I don't do this "writing before the chapter"thing .I feel like Karkat and his stupid update thing he kept writing XD (If you did not get that last reference, don't worry it was not really funny anyway).

I had a substitute teacher from Nigeria. He spoke a lot of languages. It was weird. This one kid insulted him in Russian and the guy understood (My friend translated)!He said something back, and he and the kid had a whole conversation and everything. I also watched Howl's Moving Castle. I want to read the book. My friend recommends it.

Also a bunch of my friends are getting into relationships, talking about their boyfriends and girlfriends, and kissing and stuff. And then there is me in the lunchroom while everyone is mackin' on each other. And I'm like: "I like books". XD Sorry for my weird intro: Here's the new chapter.

CHAPTER 12

"This is weird." Alice stated as she and Francis looked at different flowers for the wedding. She was staring at the pink tulip she held in her hand. Francis, who was checking out a woman with bright brown eyes who was holding a bunch of roses, did not respond. Alice rolled her eyes and flicked him on the forehead.

"Ow!" He frowned at Alice "What was that for?" She frowned back "I was talking this whole time and you did not even listen!" He put his hand over his heart and gasped "Me? Not listen to you? I feel hurt Alice, really hurt that you would even think that." In spite of being a little annoyed with him, she smiled.

"Oh shut up, and stop staring at that girl. You're being creepy again." He laughed and answered back mockingly "Stop nagging me Alice. God I feel bad for Ivan." She did not answer and continued looking at the flowers. Francis decided to change the subject, she was not exactly keen on the idea of getting married, and making comments about it would just make both of them uncomfortable.

He smiled brightly and encouragingly to make her forget about the last comment he made "So what's weird exactly?" She shrugged "I don't know. I keep having this weird feeling…like déjà vu or something." He raised an eyebrow "About what?" She shrugged again "A lot of things I guess. I don't know…" he looked at her with the same confused expression he had before "I am probably sounding weird, aren't I?" Francis nodded "Yeah. But you are weird, so I'd expect it."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Actually, Alice I have been feeling-"He was cut off as his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at who was calling. "The boss." he explained to Alice. She nodded and left so he could talk. Francis answered the phone "Yeah boss?" he listened for a while "Getting flowers." He frowned a little "Oh…okay then. Yeah sure. Okay, bye." He put his phone back into his pocket. She walked over to him "Are we done here?"

Francis shook his head "No. Ivan said that he wanted sunflowers." She raised an eyebrow. Ivan had not cared about anything concerning the wedding. Now, all of a sudden he cared about something…about flowers of all things? She was confused but then again, he was a mysterious guy. She shrugged "Fine by me." Francis left to talk to the woman about their order of flowers while Alice played with the tulip she still held.

^ J ^

They left the store and met Feliks, who had been in charge of finding tuxedos for the groomsmen. He chattered all about the different kind of suits there were while Francis listened and nodded every now and again, to show that he was paying attention. Alice looked at Francis, there was something she could not place about him…and it was bugging her.

"What else is left to do?" she asked, cutting Feliks off in mid-sentence. Feliks frowned "Rude." He grumbled. Francis rolled his eyes at him "I think we've all heard enough about the right kind of tie to wear with an Italian style suit, Feliks…" he tapped his chin and thought for a moment. "I think all we need to do is have bridesmaid dresses picked out…Oh! And we need to have the bride's dress picked out."

Alice groaned. She had not had a great experience with picking out dresses with Feliks. Even though they had fun, he did not let her get a dress even if she looked fine. He kept saying that he wanted her "to look like a total princess" no matter how much Alice insisted that she did not care. He would not budge. She had already tried on what felt like millions of dresses. Francis knew this and turned to Feliks.

"Let's split up to get this done. Feliks, you go get the bridesmaids' dresses, okay? Alice and I will get the dress for her." Feliks frowned. Francis smiled "Don't worry; I won't let her pick anything ugly." Feliks looked at him skeptically, but nodded. Francis winked at Alice as Feliks left, telling her the simple gesture that they would pick a dress and leave quickly.

They walked towards Francis' car. Alice shivered and Francis blew on his hands to keep them warm. He looked at her "How about some hot chocolate?" Alice nodded. They walked to the nearest corner store. Alice walked in and saw the hot chocolate machine. Her eyes lit up and she filled up a cup full of the delicious chocolate-y beverage. Alice looked around for a cover for the top of the cup when she saw a can of whipped cream. She grinned.

Francis was filling up a cup of coffee when he saw Alice, spraying the whole can of whipped cream into her cup. He laughed "Having any hot chocolate with that whipped cream?" She laughed "Hey don't hate on whipped cream. Whipped cream is awesome." She covered her cup and they walked up to the front of the store to pay for their drinks.

Alice handed him her cup to put on the counter. He set his down and tried to get his wallet out, while holding her cup. His wallet fell to the floor, with money and change falling on the floor. "Merde." He grumbled under his breath. Alice stopped down and picked up some of the change that fell. He set her cup of hot chocolate down and helped her. Alice picked up what seemed to be his ID from the floor.

She looked at it. It was nothing significant, just a regular ID card. It was the name on the card that confused her. She stood up slowly and handed it to him. He smiled "Bad picture, right?" She didn't respond, but frowned. He paid the man behind the counter and handed Alice her cup of hot chocolate. He grabbed his cup and they walked outside, with Alice trailing behind him.

"Thanks" she mumbled to him. He nodded "No problem, cher." They walked to his car and he unlocked it. "Don't worry," he told her as she got in "I won't make you try on every dress like Feliks did." He looked at her for a response but she said nothing. He stared at her for a moment "Is there something wrong, Alice?" She shook her head "I'm fine…I'm just thinking about something." She mumbled softly.

He decided not to ask anything. Alice, as he had learned was more complicated than she looked. Of course she was, her father did not seem like he was exactly a great guy, from what Ivan had told him. Plus, Francis felt like she had been through more than what she let on. He didn't want to ask her anything, for fear of hurting her feelings or making her feel uncomfortable. He started driving.

Neither said much for the length of the ride. Alice was too busy thinking about something. "Hey Francis," He jumped a little in his seat, scared by the sudden noise. "Sorry, you scared me a little. I was not really paying too much attention." She responded "It's fine," she paused a moment "Francis, your last name is Bonnefoy?" He nodded "Yeah, why?" She bit her lip, obviously trying hard to remember something "I knew a boy with that name a long time ago. We were friends." He frowned.

"Oh... Well, I'm sorry cher, that name is not very uncommon. Maybe it was someone else? "She sighed and smiled sheepishly "You are probably right…It was a long shot anyway." He smiled back "It's fine. Trust me, I would have remembered you." She smiled but for some reason it felt like she really did know him. It was the same déjà vu feeling she had before, the same thing that was off about him. She really did think that she knew Francis.

It was not the first time she feeling this way about him. She had before, but brushed it off. It felt weird, since she barely remembered her childhood, which was when she knew a boy by the name Bonnefoy. But he was right, she could have been mistaken. It was so long ago that she knew the little boy; she did not remember much about him anyway. She just remembered him being very nice to her. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. It was a bit embarrassing mistaking him for someone else; to keep doing it would be worse. She drank her hot chocolate, but could not push that feeling away.

Francis drove the car down a long street, heading to the bridal store Feliks had told him about before. To be truthful, he did not remember a lot of things, but he felt like he would have remembered Alice. She was not the type of person that you just forget about. He felt like he had not seen her before, but now that she mentioned it, he was racking through his brain, trying to find any memory that included Alice. He found sipped on his coffee and thought harder.

He just wanted to be sure. He really felt like he had never seen her, but he wished he did know her when he was younger. He never did have many friends when he was a little boy and it would have been nice having a friend like her. He stopped the car in front of the bridal shop and got out. Alice got out as well and they entered, with Alice dreading trying on more dresses.

Francis sat down where friends and families of other brides were happily anticipating the trying on of dresses. He finished his coffee and threw it out in a garbage bin near the door. Alice, meanwhile was looking at dresses that hung on a large rack near the changing rooms. A tall woman with a smirk on her red lips and long red fingernails approached her. "Do you need help?" she asked in a condescending manner. Alice shook her head "I'm fine thanks." The woman shrugged and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder as she walked back to another girl who looked almost exactly the same.

Francis crossed one leg over the other and looked at his watch. _By now, Feliks should be done…Maybe he could help Alice._ Sure enough, right at that time, Feliks sashayed into the store with a grin on his face. He found Francis and plopped down next to him. Francis smiled; he could tell he was in for a long account of his endeavors at the dress store. Just as he expected, Feliks started chattering on about the styles of dresses and how some were so over priced while other were just "totally hideous".

After he finished talking about all the dresses, he took a deep breath and tilted his head to the side. "Where's Alice anyway?" Francis pointed at her. She was carrying a plain white dress and looking at another one on a small rack. Feliks stared at the dress she was holding with a horrified expression "She is **not **going to get that ugly dress." He got up and raced over to Alice. She saw him and facepalmed. Francis laughed to himself as he watched Feliks snatch the dress out of her hands and put it back on the rack.

Alice did not want to deal with Felik's high standards of beauty. She was never one of those fashionista type girls, who kept up with the latest trends, but she was not a train wreck either. The way Feliks lectured her, people would expect her to dress like a clown. She decided to let him pick out dresses for her that was what was going to happen in the end anyway. The same blonde girl who Alice had talked to before came over. "Can I help you find a dress?" He nodded "Like, where are the best dresses kept?" She smiled a bright smile and led them to a long rack that housed the prettiest and most expensive dresses. "These are the best dresses we have." She pointed to the rack and smiled. Feliks nodded "Thanks."

He grabbed every dress and handed them to Alice. "Try them on." He ordered. Alice grumbled but took them to try on. The other woman who worked there came over to Feliks and showed him a strapless gown with buttons down the back and a long ribbon on the bustle. "Sir, this one is designed by Simone Carvalli. It is beautiful as you can see and exclusively made. Many brides wish they could have a dress as nice as this one." His eyes grew wide and he held the dress as if it were made of the most precious material on Earth. He checked the size and grinned as he saw it was the same as Alice's.

Alice came out wearing a mermaid style gown with a sweetheart neckline. Francis smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. She looked pretty in the dress. Feliks walked up to her and gave her the dress the woman handed him. "Try this one." He ordered. Alice sighed and took it, leaving to the dressing room to change yet again. Feliks sat down next to Francis and jumped up and down in his seat. "OMG Francis, this dress is so pretty. I can just imagine her wearing it!" Francis sighed and rolled his eyes.

Alice came out of the dressing room wearing the dress. Feliks' eyes grew wide as he saw Alice leave the dressing room. Francis' jaw dropped as she walked out. "What do you think?" Feliks asked excitedly. Francis shrugged "Elle a un beau cul" Feliks rolled his eyes and hit him on the head. Francis laughed "No she really does look amazing." She did look amazing. She walked towards them with a frown on her face "What's wrong with you two?" They just stared at her. Finally Feliks got up and walked over to her. He grabbed her hands and jumped up and down "You look so gorgeous! OMG!" Alice stared at him like he was insane.

Francis got up and took her hand. He led her to the mirrors in front of the seat they were sitting on before. She looked into the mirror, and her reflection stared back with an astonished expression on her face. The dress was beautiful…She was beautiful. The bodice was fitted and sleeveless, with a sweetheart neckline. The back of the bodice was lined with buttons and went down in a V. The bottom of the dress was larger, making her waist look even smaller. The bottom was plain but well made. The bustle in the back had a small flower pinned onto it that made everything even more elegant.

She could not believe it was herself staring back at her. Alice had never seen herself look that beautiful. She looked at Francis with a small smile. He looked back at her "Alice, you look beautiful." She did not respond but just smiled. Then she spun around and around. She felt like a princess. She giggled and then blushed in embarrassment. Francis smiled fondly at her while Feliks jumped up and down. The woman with the long fingernails walked over with the same bright, fake smile. "Are we done here?"

The three of them looked at each other and nodded. Alice went into the dressing room to change and took off the dress reluctantly, not wanting to leave behind the image of herself as a beautiful princess. She took it off gently, being careful not to ruin it. She changed back to her normal clothes which looked like rags in comparison to the amazing dress.

Alice left the room and turned to see the two women talking. The one with the red nails was laughing haughtily while the other woman, with the short blonde hair smiled. " Stupide. nous pouvons lui faire payer deux fois plus juste parce que c'est un Simone Carvalli. " she whispered. The other woman frowned "Pourquoi êtes-vous chuchoter, ce n'est pas comme si elle savait françaises. "

Alice looked at the two women angrily. They were trying to make her pay more than that dress actually was! Francis walked up to her "Are you ready to go?" Alice ignored him and walked up to the two ladies. "This dress," she pointed at it. "is not as much as you say it costs, is it?"

The two women stared at her. The one with the long red fingernails answered slowly "Miss, the price tag on the dress is correct." Alice frowned "No it's not." Feliks walked up to them "What's up guys?" Francis frowned "Apparently these women were trying to charge us more for the dress. Is this true?" Alice nodded. Feliks looked at the dress "What's the price?"

Alice handed him the dress. The price read $4,500.00. Feliks' eyes grew wide. "That dress is totally not worth that much." Francis took out his phone and searched up the dress. The cost was less than half as much. He frowned at them "You will charge us the correct price for this dress." The women blushed with embarrassment. Alice frowned "Lorsque vous essayez de tromper quelqu'un, assurez-vous qu'ils ne connaissent pas le français. "The two women stared at her and rushed to the counter to ring them up.

Francis stared at Alice in astonishment "You know French?" Alice nodded "Well yeah, I am half French. I used to speak it mostly when I was a little girl. I forget words sometimes, but I still know it." Francis was impressed "I guess I can't say anything behind your back anymore in French." Alice smiled "I guess you can't. Oh, and thanks for saying that I have a nice ass." Alice walked away with a smile. Francis was stunned and blushed a little.

^ J ^

Francis tried to think of anything in his memories that included Alice. Now he was sure that he knew her from somewhere…He just could not remember very much. He wished he could remember more, but it was so long ago when he was a child…he did not like to think about it. When he went to sleep he had a dream that he was a little boy again, and met a little girl with big blue eyes who only spoke French to him.

Who knows how to speak French? Alice! And not I XD Translator is my best friend.

Translations:

Stupide. nous pouvons lui faire payer deux fois plus juste parce que c'est un Simone Carvalli

Stupid. We can make her pay twice as much because it's a Simone Carvalli.

Pourquoi êtes-vous chuchoter, ce n'est pas comme si elle savait françaises

Why are you whispering, it's not as if she knew French.

Elle a un beau cul

She has a nice ass.

Lorsque vous essayez de tromper quelqu'un, assurez-vous qu'ils ne connaissent pas le français

When you try to trick someone, make sure they don't know French.

(Happy? I am gonna sleep now. XD)


	13. French Memories: Part 2

I bought a pair of fluffy cat ears, they are pure black, to match my hair and they look fucking legit. I am saving money so I can go Christmas shopping for everyone, I have a lot saved up, since I started saving at the beginning of the year, unlike my sister who never saves up.

She's going to have a test soon, for high school and all that. I hope she gets into my school. Anyway…I had an odd dream that two of my friends and I were the BTT.I was Prussia and it was awesome. Spain (who was my friend) and France (who was my other friend) were at the beach with me and the most of Hetalia.I kicked Sealand's sand castle down and rode on Russia's back piggy-back style. My friend (who loves Sealand) ran after me and my other friend flirted with everyone. It was fucking legit. *cue shades* Enough of this: Here's the new chapter.

(Italics mean thinking but you know that already)

CHAPTER 13

(Francis' POV) ( The POVS will change quickly so keep up)

When Francis got home that same day, he was still a little confused. It really seemed like Alice knew him…well at least for a second until she got embarrassed about it. It was really annoying to him since he thought he grew out of forgetting everything. It was the worst, not being able to remember things, and he frowned when he remembered all the times in his childhood when he could not remember things. It was the worst thing when you're a child, and you can't remember how your own mother looks like.

Francis was getting a headache. He usually did when he thought about things far back in the past. That's the reason (other than grief) that he hardly thought about it. Francis looked at stack of mail on the table near the front door and picked it up. He glanced at each halfheartedly _Nothing but bills…I'll pay those later._

Francis placed the letters back down and headed for the large living room. Francis's house was nothing like Ivan's. Where Ivan had old furniture but beautiful furniture, Francis had new, modern décor. His apartment was smaller than Ivan's but had fairly the same floor plan.

There was a small foyer which housed only a large rug and to tables on either side of the front door, which led to a hallway that entered into the living room. Next to that, was the kitchen. Another hallway led out to the rest of the rooms, which included a bedroom, a study, and a bathroom.

The living room was about the same size as Ivan's, but other than that, the layout and the furniture were completely different. A large and comfortable looking chocolate brown couch was in the center of the room, with another smaller couch that looked the same on the right side of it, facing towards an expensive flat screen TV.

There were a few bookshelves, all of which housed a wide array of books, from modern novels to Shakespeare and Tolstoy. There was a glass coffee table in front of the TV, with a white rug underneath it. Sticking with the modern style, there was a large window that took up the whole left side of the room. A beautiful view of city life could be seen through it. That was the whole of his living room.

He kept the whole apartment this way, modern and simple, but still very nicely furnished. He sat down on the couch and taking the remote form the coffee table, turned on the TV. Francis didn't feel like watching TV, he still had a headache and there was probably nothing good on….

Of course Francis was right. He flicked through the channels, searching for anything to watch. After a few minutes of channel surfing, he finally settled on watching a cheesy romantic comedy. He didn't remember the trailer much, but he knew that as always, the man male character was a flirt and an overall tool, while the leading female actress was a sarcastic woman who didn't believe in love. Basically, it was like any other romantic comedy ever made in the history of time. Francis rolled his eyes and sighed as he watched the stupid film.

Even though he didn't want to, he kept watching. Whether it was out of boredom, or just plan curiosity, he could not tell. It was funny watching the two protagonists fail miserably at acting, and it was even funnier watching the "smooth" male character put the moves on her. Francis shook his head, he wasn't an expert at love, (okay maybe he was) but he knew that whispering cheesy lines such as these into a woman's ear was not the best way to make someone fall for you. It would work for a one night stand or even a quick fling, but for true love, he doubted it would work.

After watching the whole movie (which ended in the man proposing to her "romatically" before she left on a plane and the woman kissing him "passionately") Francis decided he had enough of watching TV. He ran his fingers through his hair and went to his bedroom. Francis' bedroom was nicely furnished as well, if not sparsely. It had a big black dresser and a large white bed, with a set of matching black night stands next to the bed. The bedroom led to the master bath, which Francis entered.

He turned on the water and lazily took of his clothes, this headache of his was just making him wanting to do nothing more than lie down and sleep. _Why am I so tired? I never am this sleepy…_He got into the shower and washed quickly, his showers were almost always long, not because it took long to bathe, but because he just liked to stay in the shower and think as they warm water hit him.

He did this now and thought about various things, from paying bills, to work, and finally settling on Alice again. He really wished he could remember anything about her. He tried to rack his brain for any moment that included her, but he could find none.

Most of his childhood was a blur, with almost all of his memories being hazy and not entirely reliable. He did remember his grandmother, his house, and little details about his life, like a few school days and the small forest near his home. Other than that though, his life from the age of birth to age twelve was a huge blur.

He did not remember many people other than his grandmother, but that was fine since he hardly had any friends growing up. Someone like Alice, you couldn't just forget, but it really did seem like she knew him. He thought about calling her at Ivan's house and asking for more details, but he didn't want to make her nay more embarrassed than she already was.

He groaned as his headache worsened, and he stopped thinking so hard about the past. Francis turned off the water and stepped out of the shower carefully, trying not to get too much water onto the floor. He ran his finger through his hair again and grabbed a towel and dried his hair. The he dried the rest of his body and wrapped the towel around his waist as he headed into his bedroom for a fresh pair of clothes.

Francis glanced at the clock on his nightstand; it was only 8:00 pm yet he felt so tired. He grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a plain white tee shirt and quickly threw them on. Normally, Francis slept in only his underwear, but his apartment was strangely cold, so he opted for wearing the few clothing items he had that were appropriate for sleeping in.

He walked back into the living room and glanced into the kitchen, he felt a little hungry, not enough to put an effort into cooking though. Francis usually cooked his meals himself, he liked it better that way, and it never did taste the same, eating something out of a can. But since he was so tired and lazy today, he grabbed a can of chicken soup and emptied it into a saucepan.

He stirred the soup and waited for it to boil before emptying it into a bowl. Francis ate quickly, and placed the dishes into the sink, intending to wash them in the morning when he did not feel so out of it.

He walked into the bathroom and brushed his teeth quickly before yawning and turning off the lights. Francis almost fell into bed, from being so tired. He wrapped himself tightly in the blankets like he always did and fell asleep almost instantly.

^ J ^

A little girl and a little boy walked into the woods. They looked exactly the same, except the boy had violet eyes. The girl walked confidently through the woods as if it were her kingdom. The boy followed closely behind, though not as confidently. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and looked around nervously. The girl walked closer to a clearing in the woods, it was their favorite spot to play in. The boy tapped her on the shoulder and whispered softly "Someone is there." The girl looked to where the boy was indicating. Sure enough, there was someone there! She crouched down and looked through a few branches to see:

A little boy with messy blonde hair that never seemed to settle down stood quietly. His blue eyes looked at the pond in front of him. He crouched down and watched intently as a frog jumped from a small rock into the water. It resurfaced and let out a load croak which made the boy giggle. He croaked back and watched as the frog croaked again. He laughed and sat down on the grass near the pond.

He busied himself with looking at the scene before him. It was warm day, with the sun shining. It was one of those days where the whole world felt perfect and at peace. Even though the boy knew that the world was not perfect, he felt so as he watched the clouds. He lay down and looked at the clouds move slowly and form to create images that he named in his head.

_A rabbit _he looked at one _A heart _he looked at another close by. He felt so tired looking at the clouds…_A star…_he fought to keep his eyes awake…._An elephant…_Finally he succumbed and let sleep whisk him away. The boy did not know how long he slept, but he felt an odd poking sensation on his face. He tried to sleep again. He heard someone whisper softly "I think he's dead….". Another voice asked timidly "What do we do?"

He felt the poking sensation on his cheek. The boy frowned and opened one eye. Standing before him was a small girl with big blue eyes and freckles who looked younger than him. She was holding a stick near his face. This, he assumed was what she was using to poke his face. The girl jumped a little in surprise, and a boy who looked just like her but with strange violet eyes hid behind her "Is he a zombie?" the boy asked, clearly frightened.

The girl frowned and peered down at the boy who was now getting up from the ground. "Are you a zombie?" she asked with a grin. The boy glared at her and mumbled angrily "Allez-vous en." The girl's eyes widened in surprise and the boy who was cowering behind her peeked out from behind her side. The girl grinned even wider, showing a few missing teeth. "You speak French too!" She turned to the boy behind her "That's not a zombie Mattie, zombies don't speak French, everyone knows that."

The boy stared at the two of them like they were crazy (he thought they were). The other boy (who was named Mattie as he remembered) looked at him and tugged on the girl's white dress. She turned and looked at the boy. She laughed and pointed at him "You got grass on your face." The boy frowned. Mattie tilted his head and asked quietly "Can you speak English?" The boy knew what he meant and shook his head quickly.

Mattie whispered "Maybe we should be friends with him?" The girl looked at Mattie and nodded with a smile. She turned to the boy and smiled happily "Bonjour mon nom est Alice. Ceci est mon frère Mattie. Quel est votre nom?"

The boy smiled a little, he had not met anyone near his age who knew French and he certainly could not speak English well enough to hold a conversation, so he was happy to have someone he could talk to. "Mon nom est François." The girl grinned and Matthew smiled weakly.

"Que faites-vous ici?" Mattie asked quietly. Francis shrugged and kicked a rock into the pond. "Rien, je me plais ici" he answered simply. Alice nodded "Me too!" she answered in English. Francis tilted his head in confusion and Alice corrected herself. "Moi aussi!"

Alice grinned "Nous devrions tous être amis." Francis smiled and nodded quietly. Matthew did the same as Alice held out her hand. "Disons promettent d'être amis, d'accord?" The two boys looked at each other and nodded.

Alice grinned and they all lay their hands on top of each other, making a promise. She turned to Francis "Voulez-vous jouer à un jeu? "Francis nodded and Alice nodded to Matthew who spoke quietly "Nous jouions armée" Alice cut in "Je suis le chef de file ! "Francis grinned "Nous pouvons être des soldats! " Matthew looked at him and smiled happily. Francis followed the little girl as she barked orders to imaginary soldiers like a real army general…

^ J ^

Alice woke up with a start. She rubbed her eyes, sat up and looked at the digital clock on the table near her bedside. It was 2:06 AM. She frowned and lay back down. _What a weird dream…It was not a dream at all, not like my normal crazy dreams. It was a memory. At least they are better than all those nightmares…_Alice smiled, ever since she met him, Alice had been feeling that there was something about Francis that she could not quite place.

Now she understood that it was because she knew him. At first, she could not remember him all that much and just had weird déjà vu feelings, but now, especially because of her memory-dream she really was certain that she knew him

Alice could not believe that she did not remember him, Francis was her first friend. She remembered doing almost everything with him. As she thought more about this new discovery, more memories flooded in. She remembered inviting him for tea at her grandma's house, waiting for him in front of his private school that she and Mattie did not attend, going trick-or-treating with him and Mattie and crying as she split her knee and Francis patched it up for her.

They were trivial memories, but it made her feel giddy that someone knew her…well he did not actually _know _her for whatever reason. Her heart sank a little. _That's the problem _She wished he could remember her…It was horrible being alone for so long, and now that she met someone who actually knew her, he had to not remember her. Alice frowned _I will help him remember._

^ J ^

Francis peddled on his bike as fast as he could. He was working hard to go up the hill, it was not easy. It was even less easy when you had to pull two other children. He groaned as he peddled harder. The girl who was sitting on the handlebars of his bike looked at him and tilted her head "Do you want me to help?"

Francis shook his head and blushed a little; he didn't want the girl to think that he was weak. Francis smiled "No, it's okay." He wiped his forehead that was beading with sweat. The boy that was riding in the wagon in the back looked at the two of them and made a grossed out face.

They made it to the top of the hill and Francis stopped to catch his breath. He smiled at the girl who smiled back happily "Ready?" he asked. The girl looked at the boy in the back "Ready?" she asked him. The boy in the back shook his head "No! It's so far down, and we could all get hurt and Grandma said that we shouldn't…" The girl looked back at Francis and nodded "We're ready."

Francis smiled and he peddled quickly, to get off with a fast start. "Here we go!" he yelled and the girl grinned. He stopped peddling as fast and let gravity do some of the work. The girl threw her hands up into the air and yelled "Wheeeee!" The boy in the back was screaming for dear life.

Francis was so busy watching the two of them that he did not notice that the road was getting bumpier. He accidently peddled over a rock and the whole bike shook. The boy in the back covered his eyes and screamed. The girl screamed and almost slipped off.

Francis' eyes widened and he reached out and grabbed her with both hands around the waist before it was too late. He held her like that the rest of the way, and the girl left her hands up in the air, letting the wind blow on her face and the sun hit her cheeks. She smiled at him as they stopped at the end of the hill. "That was awesome! You are awesome!" He smiled back, though a little weakly and blushed at the compliment.

^ J ^

Francis woke up with a start. He sprang up from his bed and then sighed as he adjusted to being awake. This was the hundredth time he had a dream with the little girl in it. It was getting annoying. The dreams felt so real, like he could actually feel the wind on his face, the sun shining, and feel himself holding the little girl. He frowned. She felt so real.

It was odd, but in each dream she looked a different age, sometimes she'd look no more six, while other times she was ten. But in all the dreams he had, she was always wearing a white dress and brown boots. It was all very odd. He thought that they could be memories, but the way the dreams played out sometimes, he was not qute sure what they were.

Sometimes they would play like memories, like he was not asleep at all and was just reminiscing. Other times, random things would come out of nowhere, people would speak in words he could not understand, and the whole dream just got really scary.

Though they were sometimes scary, these dreams were the best he ever had. He thought a little _Maybe they are memories? My memory is bad, they could be and I just don't know it._ He wished they were. Now that knew Alice, he could finally understand who the little girl was that came in his dreams almost every night. It was her, it was Alice all along.

Francis was happy that he could remember her a little. It felt nice that he knew someone before being a teenager, that was when he started going to see a doctor, to help him remember things and to help find ways to stay remembering things. Francis thought about his childhood for a moment and remembered something else: Alice had a brother.

I am sorry; there are too many things to translate this time! XD I will not give translations for this one! You guys are not dumb, I know you probably all copied and pasted the French into google traslate. If not, then do it now, I am too tired to translate all of this. And sorry for the weird, anti-climactic ending. I could not find a way to end it and I was just getting tired so I half-assed the last So yeah…Bye guys!


	14. Meeting The Family

Hey guys! New Saturday, new update. I was watching Moulin Rouge and…I love this movie so much. Haha. Come what may is my favorite song from that whole movie, It is just beautiful. I would cry if I did not have tear ducts (haha nah I am just an unemotional person) the whole movie is just nice. It's like the book Camille….

Anyway, I digress. I was thinking….How do you guys think a Moulin Rouge fan fic would be like? Do you think it would work out? I like it…I mean, I am already piecing together the scenes, I mean it will be longer than the movie and go more in depth….But I can see it, can you? ^ J ^

I mean, I have not written anything for a while (I was almost done writing this fic when I first updated…so I have not written anything new) and I feel like writing more of a love story. This one is a love story, but….we all already know it's not going to be the love-dovey kind. If I wrote this Moulin Rouge one…it would be nice. Please guys give me some feedback, because if you don't want it, I probably won't put it up…But if you do, I will happily start writing!

(Also if you have not seen this movie, I suggest you do, it's funny, romantic, and tragic all at once. I am not one for romantic "chick flics" but I have to say, this romantic movie is amazing…There's singing too, if you are into that!) Sorry for writing so much…I seem to do this a lot (my sister calls me the Dostoevsky of writing updates…since I write so much in the beginning…Sorry, I'll shut up now). Here's the new chapter:

CHAPTER 14

Ivan stood over the sleeping figure of Alice. He looked down at her with a puzzled expression. Alice lay in bed peacefully (though in a very odd position: with her arm twisted over her head and her leg bent awkwardly) with a sweet smile on her face that again reminded him of his sister. He fought the urge to hug her and instead opted for pulling back the curtains swiftly. Alice shifted in her sleep and squinted, but only turned over to her side, still asleep.

Ivan sighed and fought the new urge to kick her awake, he did not have time for this. He cursed silently and reached down to shake her awake as gently as he could stand (which was still quite roughly). Alice groaned and shielded her eyes as light suddenly awoke her.

She groaned, covered her eyes with her hands and rolled over to have her back turned to him. "Alice." Ivan called, trying to keep the anger out of his voice and his eternal smile on his face.

Alice groaned louder but sat up. "What's…up?" she asked, still half asleep and rubbing her eyes. "We have to go, before it gets too late in the day." Alice stared at him like he was crazy. "I'm sorry, but could you hand me my glasses…It feels weird talking to someone I can't see…" Ivan did as she asked and handed her the glasses that sat on the bedside table.

She put them on and instantly felt better "What did you say…?" Ivan rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger in exasperation. "I said we have to go soon. We are going to visit my sister." Alice's eyes widened "Your…sister?" Ivan really felt like yelling at her now, but kept his smile, which was now becoming strained.

"Yes, my sister. You know I have a sister, yes?" Alice nodded "I mean I do…but…you know…I mean that…" He kept his strained smile plastered on his face "Yes, well now that you are done rambling, we have to go. Get dressed. We are leaving at 9:00"

Alice frowned but kept silent. He began to leave but turned to face her once more "You remember the deal we made Alice, you must pretend that this "relationship" is real." Alice's frown did not leave her face, but she nodded. "Good. Try to look presentable."

^ J ^

Alice sat in Ivan's car, quite uncomfortable as usual. She took her usual position, twisting her body so that she was turned away from him to face the window. She watched the people walk by hurriedly, as the wind blew their clothes and hair.

Alice felt even more uncomfortable than usual, one because she was wearing a dress (The brown sweater dress that Ivan bought her was the most presentable thing she owned) and dresses were never her favorite garment. And two, because she was going to meet her fiancé's sister.

Alice did not know why Ivan was keeping up this whole charade of them being in love, she felt that anyone could see through it, especially his own sister of all people. She did not see the point and she did not know why it was so important to him, but she knew that she had to keep it up for appearances and make it seem as believable as she could.

Another thing Alice could not understand was how Ivan was so moody. Wasn't he just buying her clothes and being kind to her a week ago? Now he was cold and rude towards her. Alice had not done anything to make him feel this way…at east she thought she had not.

Alice quickly scrapped that idea; he was obviously the one who made it up in his head to be rude to her, besides it was better this way, there were no feelings, so why try to make something out of nothing. As long as they were civil, Alice could see no reason why they could not coexist peacefully.

"We are here." Ivan said, cutting into her train of thought. Alice snapped out of her daze and looked out the window. She was confused "A hospital?" she turned and asked. Ivan nodded and opened the car door to leave. Alice did the same and got out. She shut the door and stared up at the hospital building with a frown.

Ivan was already walking away, Alice walked quickly to catch up with him. She looked up at him with a quizzical expression "Is your sister sick?" Ivan did not look down at her, but answered with a soft "Yes." Alice was generally not good at reading the mood in most situations, but she knew that she should not talk anymore.

They entered the hospital, with Ivan telling the woman that he was visiting. She nodded and waved him off. Alice followed Ivan into the elevator and waited for it to take them to the fourth floor. Ivan stood silently, staring straight ahead and looking at nothing in particular.

It looked as though he was readying himself for their "performance". Alice breathed out softly and waited. She wanted to see his sister, out of curiosity, but at the same time she did not, out of fear. She bit her lip and chewed on it softly, waiting in some odd form of fear and anticipation.

The elevator doors opened and Ivan walked out. Alice followed, walking faster to keep up with his long strides. They walked by many rooms, most of which had closed doors until they finally made it to the room of Ivan's sister.

It was near the end of the hall, and virtually secluded form the rest of the ward. It was much quieter here, almost eerily. Alice felt out of place and a little spooked. She never had a problem with hospitals, she'd been to her fair share of them, but this part of the hospital was too quiet for her liking.

Ivan opened the door and walked inside. Alice stood outside, not wanting to go in. He peeked back out and smiled at her, in the most terrifying way possible. Alice never knew anyone's smile could be so sweet and scary at the same time. "Come." He reassured her in a sweet voice, with annoyance hidden underneath.

Alice walked into the room slowly, following Ivan. The room was very spacious, and unlike most hospital rooms, Ivan's sister had it all to herself. There were a few padded chairs near the doorway on the left side of the room. A small, whit dresser stood near them, facing the bedside table near the empty bed. Other than a television that was on a stand that was nailed into the wall, the room was empty.

Empty except, of course the plants that were in different vases and pots in the room. Some plants were just sprouts while others were fully grown, though all of them were the same. They were all sunflowers.

Ivan walked towards the window, where a woman sat, staring out of the window. She was drawing something, from what Alice could tell. Alice could not see her face, but she could still the resemblance. They shared the same pale skin and almost white-beige hair. Ivan smiled, genuinely this time and tapped the woman on the shoulder. She turned and her eyes widened as she saw it was him. "Ivan! What are you doing here so early?" He bent down and hugged her tightly.

"I'm just visiting, sister." He looked down at the sketch she had drawn in pencil. It was a landscape of flowers, with wildflowers and sunflowers all growing high. He smiled "I always love your drawings, Katyusha. They feel so real." She smiled softly, blushing a little from the compliment "It's not really so good. I wish I had my paints, it would look so much nicer."

Alice watched them silently. It was obvious that they were related. They had the same smile, (at least when Ivan let his real one show) it was bright and sublime, and between them, it felt as if someone had changed the season to spring. _That's what it feels like. _Alice thought _It feels like a warm spring day when they smile._

She was very pretty, with deep blue eyes, contrasting his violet ones and short straight hair. She had a soft glow about her that Alice could not place, and even though the smile was not meant for her, Alice felt perfectly at ease by it. Alice wondered why she was in the hospital when she looked so healthy.

Katyusha peeked out from behind her brother and saw Alice standing awkwardly. She raised an eyebrow but did not stop smiling. She turned to face her brother and with a puzzled look asked quietly "Кто это?" Ivan smiled, though straining this one, making it less bright "Мои подруги." She looked at her from behind Ivan with a reassuring smile. She turned back to him with a happy smile "Она очень красивая."

Ivan's smile faltered "Yes…." He turned to Alice and beckoned her over. She walked over and stood next to him. She looked at Katyusha with a bright smile which she returned. "Alice, this is my sister, Katyusha. Katyusha, this is Alice."

"It's nice to meet my little brother's girlfriend finally." She said with a laugh. Alice raised an eyebrow and looked at Ivan who shrugged. "He told me about you, but he's too shy to say much. I think he's too embarrassed to tell me." Alice smirked "Really?" she looked at Ivan "What did you say?" Ivan looked from his sister to Alice and back "Nothing really…" Katyusha laughed again. It was pretty and light like jingling bells.

"He's so shy sometimes. Anyway, how long have you guys been dating?" she turned to Alice "He never tells me anything. It's really annoying." Alice smiled and looked at Ivan who just stared back. "We've known about each other for a long tim, because of family friends and stuff, but we did not meet for a while. We started dating about a year ago." Katyusha turned to Ivan "Really? I hate that you never tell me anything, brother."

He looked down at the ground sheepishly and muttered an apology. Alice found it funny how he was put into his place by his sister. Alice grabbed a chair and pushed it over to where Katyusha was sitting. Ivan grabbed his own and sat down as well. "So how did you two meet?" Ivan looked at Alice who gave him a look and said "Let me tell the story." Ivan looked at her skeptically, but did not stop her.

"One day, I was walking from school; you see, I was still in school when this happened. My aunt was waiting for me, because she was going to take me shopping. Suddenly, this man came and grabbed her purse. My aunt screamed and I decided to run after the guy and stop him, but I guess I got the man and Ivan mixed up. To be fair, they both were really tall, so it was an easy mistake. Anyway, I ran after Ivan (who I thought was the burglar) and tackled him.

I didn't know it wasn't him, so when I yelled at him to give me back the purse, he didn't even know what I meant. I ended up punching him in the face, my aunt had to grab me and pull me off of him. I was being a huge hero, but I guess it was the wrong guy, Ha-ha. Anyway, Ivan here ended up with a bloody nose, and my aunt ended up with no purse, but in the end I guess it worked out, right baby?"

Katyusha was laughing as Ivan grumbled out a "Yes." She wiped her eye and giggled "Oh Ivan, I can't believe you've never told me this!" Alice grinned "He was probably embarrassed that he got beat up by me." Ivan glared at Alice when his sister wasn't looking and Alice smirked at him.

"Alice you forgot to tell her about our first date." Ivan added with a smile. Alice looked at him with a frown. "Alice and I went out to dinner and we were walking by the pier, when Alice fell in, because she is so clumsy. I ended up having to save her, after she flailed about in the water for a few minutes. She ended up throwing up on the beach. A man patrolling the beach caught us near the water and thought Alice was drunk, so she was taken to jail."

Alice glared at Ivan who smirked back "I love that story, don't you Fredka?" She frowned at the weird name and then glared even harder at him. Katyusha laughed "You two are a really cute couple. I am really happy for you Ivan, for being lucky enough to find a nice girl." Ivan forced a smile while Alice grinned triumphantly.

"We came to tell you that we are getting married." Ivan said quickly. He looked for Katyusha's reaction. Alice looked at Ivan with a questioning glance. Katyusha looked stunned for a moment. She turned to Ivan with her eyebrows raised "Really?" he nodded "I just wanted to know what you think."

She looked at the both of them and answered slowly "Ivan, if you love each other, then I support you. It's your life, if you love her, then marry her." She turned to Ivan, asking if he loved her without actually asking.

He looked back and answered with a steady voice "I love her with all my heart." He looked at Alice who just stared at him with a shocked expression. Alice had never been told by a man that he loved her. Even if it was fake (which she had to remind herself it was) it felt…nice. It felt nice to be told you were loved, that someone cared about you so much, now she knew why people made such a big deal about it…

"I love Ivan, and if it's alright with you, then I'd like to marry him."Alice said firmly. Katyusha nodded. "Then I guess you two should marry. I don't know much about your relationship, but I trust you Ivan. If you want to, then get married…Just be sure that this is what you both want to do." She looked at both of them for an answer. Alice looked at Ivan who looked back at her. They seemed to say to each other "If you want to, then this is the time to back out."

Neither did. Ivan looked at his sister and with the brightest smile he could muster told her "We are sure. " Alice nodded. "We are getting married on the fifteenth." Ivan said. Katyusha's eyes widened once more. "So soon?" Ivan nodded "Yes, because…well…" he could not say the words. How could he?

It broke his heart to say "We getting married because you are dying and that's all that you want from me, and even though I know that it won't help you, I will do it, just to see you happy." Katyusha nodded. She understood her brother's position, and even though she believed that they were in love, to some extent, she never thought that they would want to be married so soon. She sighed "Of course. Of course." She smiled "I am so happy for you two."

She turned to Alice "You will be a beautiful bride." Ivan looked up at the clock on the wall. He got up and hugged his sister. "I am sorry, sister. We have to go." Alice got up "Yeah, wedding things." She hugged Katyusha as well. "Well goodbye, then. Come see me tomorrow if you get a chance."

Ivan nodded and started leaving but turned around when Alice did not follow. Katyusha looked up at him "I have to tell Alice something, don't worry, it won't take long." He looked at the both of them doubtfully, but left after his sister gave him a reassuring smile.

Alice stood looking at Katyusha with a quizzical look. Katyusha sighed "I trust Ivan, and since he trusts you, then I trust you too…" Alice furrowed her eyebrows and waited for her to go on "So please, take care of my brother for me…I just want to be sure that if anything ever happens, he's safe." Alice looked at Katyusha, whose eyes were sparkling with tears that were ready to fall out. Alice felt the same way she did about her brother. She knew how worried Katyusha was, and how worried she'd be for her own brother.

Alice hugged her tightly and Katyusha hugged back just as tight. "I will take care of him for you. That's a promise." She looked down at Katyusha with a new sense of kinship. Katyusha felt the same, though unlike Alice, she could not place why she felt this way. But she knew Alice was telling the truth when she promised that she would take care of him. "Thank you Alice." She said quietly.

How do you like this chapter? I know, you guys want them to get married already right? Don't worry, that happens in the next chapter, you just have to wait a week! Anyway, thanks for following me and reading all these updates, it makes me feel like my writing is good. Also, think about that fic, should I write it or not? I really really want to, but I am not sure. Thanks for reading!

Translations:

Кто это = Who is this?

Мои подруги = My girlfriend

Она очень красивая = She is very beautiful.


	15. The Big Wedding

Hello guys! It is officially December and I am so excited! That mean Christmas is only 24 days away! I am a HUGE fan of Christmas, it is by far the best holiday and I get into such an (abnormally) good mood in wintertime (because I love winter) but especially during Christmas! I am buying my friends stuff, and I love buying things for people (I am a pretty good gift giver) and receiving stuff too!

ALSO: I WILL BE WRITING ANOTHER STORY. It will be collaboration between me and my friend Cheyenne (Spazittarius). It will be about all the RP'S we have. Basically it's us as countries, growing up, fighting other countries, and all that. Usually I hate OCS and things of that nature, but it's so fun to write fics with her, so we said "why not?" and I will be posting the first chapter soon, so if you want to, check it out!

THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE A LOONNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG ONE. I can already tell I want it to be long; it's like, the highlight of the 14 chapters. Anyway, I will shut up now, and give you what you all have been waiting for: (finally) The wedding chapter of Rising in the Ranks. :D

CHAPTER 15

"Wake up, Alice."

"….Wake up, Alice."

"Alice wake up!"

"ALICE!"

"RéVEILLER ALICE!"

Alice sat up quickly in bed and looked around. Her vision was blurry, her eyes not working as well without glasses, but she could make out the figure of Francis standing over her, arms crossed over his chest.

"What the hell Francis?" Alice grumbled, feeling around on the bed for her glasses. Francis groaned and placed the glasses on Alice's face. With her vision restored to normal, she could see just how annoyed Francis looked. She could also see that he was dressed very nicely, in a very formal suit."What's wrong with you? And what's with the getup?" she asked with a frown. Francis hit his forehead "Do you not know what today is?" Alice yawned "Francis I barely know what my name is in the morning."

"It's the fifteenth!" Alice scratched her head and got up lazily. "So? What does that have to do with anything?" Francis hit his forehead harder (he was sure that it was going to leave a mark) "Today is your wedding day!" Alice turned around slowly and faced Francis with a shocked look "Today?"

"Yes, today! And we will be late if you don't start getting dressed." Alice stared at him blankly."Get dressed!"He repeated, louder this time. Alice nodded and ran to her closet, taking out a tee shirt and jeans. Francis frowned "No, no get your dress!" He rubbed his temples and shook his head as Alice ran around looking for the dress. She found it, in the back of her closet and held it for a moment, staring at Francis.

"Get dressed!" Francis waved his hands in the air, trying to get her to listen to him. "Not when you're in here!" she yelled and pointed to the door "Go away." Francis hit his forehead (he was going to get a concussion at this rate) "How are you going to tie the back?!" Alice bit her lip "Right…turn around. And close your eyes!"

Francis rolled his eyes and turned around, closing his eyes as he did so. Alice started taking off her shirt. "If I remember correctly, you did not care when Feliks saw you naked." Alice struggled to get out of her pants and not slip on the shirt thrown onto the floor. "I was not naked first of all, and second of all, I am pretty sure that he's gay." Francis sighed. Alice searched in her drawers for a bra to wear and groaned as she found none.

"Pass me that bra over there." Alice half asked/half ordered Francis. She pointed to the bra that hung loosely form the top of the tall bookshelf in her room; she had thrown it there last night and was too lazy and tired to retrieve it. Now she was regretting it. "How if my eyes are closed?" Francis asked, annoyed. "Just open your eyes and get it, I'm too short." Alice exclaimed, exasperated.

Francis opened his eyes and turned around; Alice was covering herself with a tee shirt and pointing to the bookshelf. Francis laughed and got the bra easily, handing it to her with a smirk. "You know you don't have to cover up in front of me Alice, I won't tell the others how you look."

"Fuck you. And turn around!" Francis shrugged and turned away from her. Alice grumbled as she fumbled with her bra, her fingers being clumsy because of her rush.

"You know," Francis continued "I know why you are marrying Ivan." Alice stopped for a second "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly. "It's your brother isn't it?" Francis asked softly. Alice's eyes widened "How do you know that I have a brother?"

"I remembered you. You were right, I knew you when we were younger. And I remembered a lot Alice, a lot more than I had been able to before I met you. I remembered that I met you in a little forest, that you know how to speak French, that you have a brother….Alice, what happened to Matthew?"

Alice looked down at the floor, even though he was looking away, she just wanted to hide her face "He's gone. I don't know where he is." Francis sighed "I am sorry Alice…" They were both quiet for a moment."

But that's why you are marrying Ivan, to find your brother?" Alice finally secured her bra and stepped into her dress "Yeah…I just need to find him, see if he's okay…" She held the top of the dress with her hand, trying to keep it from slipping down.

Francis turned around and walked over to Alice, who was still looking away, back towards him, and eyes downcast as if the floor was the most interesting thing. He started to tie the ribbon in the back of the dress, being careful to not tie it too tightly. "You'll find him Alice" Francis said softly. Alice said nothing, and crossed her arms over her chest. He sighed and finished the back lacing with a bow. He didn't leave though, and lingered near her. Alice ran her fingers through her hair, still not facing him. "Francis, I don't know if I want to do this! I love Mattie, but I don't want to do all of this…getting married to someone I don't know, it's just crazy."

Francis did not say anything, and Alice continued. "But it makes me feel like a horrible sister, knowing that I have a chance to find him, and that I am re thinking it…I would want him to find me if was him…but not like this, I'd never want him to do this. I just want to do what's right. But fooling people, pretending to love someone you don't, and this whole fake wedding, it doesn't feel right…." She rubbed her forehead.

"Francis, I don't know how this will turn out. Will we even be able to find Mattie? Will Ivan keep his promise? I don't know who to believe, when everyone I know is fucking strangers….and I'm…

She felt like an idiot for even thinking of saying this.

I'm….

She was going to say it. She could not stop now.

I'm kind of…scared"

The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. She instantly felt weak for even thinking about them, now she felt like a stupid kid for saying them out loud.

"I know…Heroes are never scared right?" she continued with a laugh "I am a pretty bad hero-" Francis hugged her from behind, catching her off guard and making the words she was about to say be forgotten. Alice didn't move, still a little shocked. "You are a great sister Alice, anybody would be lucky to have you, related or otherwise." Francis said softly as he hugged her. Alice faced him. "And," he continued with a smile, framing her face in his hands. "You always have me. We were friends once, and I would like to be friends again."

Alice laughed a little and hugged Francis, who hugged her back. "Thanks Francis. And to tell you the truth, I don't think we ever stopped being friends, at least I never stopped being friends with you." She stepped away from the hug and Francis pushed a stray piece of hair away from her face.

"Now I remember why I liked you so much." Francis said with a smile. "You know what is right, Alice and anyone in your position would feel conflicted like this, do what you feel is right and don't let anyone influence you. If you want to back out now, just know that I won't hold it against you."

Alice fixed her hair, brushing it with her fingers. She looked at herself in the mirror and straightened out any strands that were in her face. Francis knelt down and picked up the veil that must have fallen on the floor when Alice was trying to put on her dress. He secured it in her hair. "What are you going to do?" Alice turned to look at Francis with a gleamof determination in her eyes "I am going to do what I think is right, I'm going to marry him, and I am going to find Mattie, no matter what."

Francis smiled. "There you go, you have your answer." Alice nodded "How do I look?" To be truthful, Alice looked even prettier than when Francis first saw her in the dress. But her wavy blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and smile would make her look good in anything. She was beautiful, it was simple as that. Francis smirked" I would sleep with you."

Alice rolled her eyes and grinned. "Alors allons-y. " Alice put her arm around him and gave him a quick squeeze. Francis patted her head softly and they left. As they were closing the door, Francis felt a twinge of guilt. He knew that he had to get her to marry Ivan, but…it made him feel guilty when he knew that she sincerely trusted him.

^ J ^

"Where is Ivan anyway?" Alice asked as they walked down the stairs. "He went to do a few things before going to the church, you know business things." Alice shrugged "Whatever. Do you think we'll be late?" Francis checked his watch. "Not if Feliks comes on time." They walked through the front door of the apartment. "Fuck! It's cold!" Alice exclaimed as the cool November winds hit her. "We probably should have gotten jackets." "No time." Francis stated. "Come on Feliks…." Alice mumbled to herself.

Just then, Feliks rolled up to them "Get in losers we're going shopping!" He shouted as he parked awkwardly, half on the curb and half in the street. Alice laughed "Nice mean girls reference! Just in time Feliks!" She raced to the window and gave Feliks a high five before climbing into the back. Francis repressed the urge to hit his forehead again, and climbed into the car.

"Hey Alice you are looking so pretty, I made such a good decision on the dress. I should dress everyone, and then we would all look hot." Feliks said giving Alice a 100 watt grin. Alice smiled back "Thanks you know, you are right, I do look nice in this dress. If I was a dude I would so have sex with me right now." "Oh my god!" Francis exclaimed. "Can we stop talking about how hot Alice looks and drive to her wedding!"

Feliks complied but not after he muttered a "Rude." and Alice mouthed an "I know right?". Feliks drove quickly. "You guys took like forever!" Feliks said as he ran a red light."Yeah sorry about that." Alice replied with a shrug. Feliks made a sharp turn, making Francis fall on top of Alice "Who taught you how to drive?!" Francis yelled. Feliks just laughed as he broke almost all the laws about driving. Alice laughed as well as Francis kept hitting his head repeatedly on the back of the front seat.

Finally they got to the church, where the last few of the guests, including Katyusha were making their way in. Feliks stopped the car with a screech and Francis hit his head again, making Alice burst into laughter. He grabbed Alice's hand and got out, pulling her out. "Let's go Alice," he pulled her away. Alice gave Feliks a wave before letting herself be dragged to the Church.

^ J ^

Ivan was waiting in the front of the church. _Leave it to Feliks to drive that was a great idea…_ They were not really late, only by a few minutes, but with every minute, Alice would have another chance to re-think her decision, and that was putting Ivan on edge. He tapped his foot doing anything to keep himself occupied. Yao bit his lip "Ivan, do you think they'll be coming?"

"She should be, I told Francis to make sure of it." Yao did not look convinced and Ivan did not feel convinced, even though it was his own statement. Arthur looked at Yao, who shrugged. Arthur looked at Toris who looked terrified, thinking about what Ivan would be like if Alice did not come. Toris looked at Eduard who looked as cool as ever.

^ J ^

"Come on, Alice!" Francis exclaimed as they entered the church, standing between the two doors, one that opened top the street, the other that went into the actual church. "Are you ready?" Francis asked quickly, looking at her face for any sign of cold feet. Alice thought of everything she had been through, which was a lot, considering it had only been two weeks since her father sold her like some sort of merchandise for sale.

Ivan fighting for her, being nice to her and then rude to her, him wanting to keep their relationship looking real, and him not telling her why he needed to get married confused her. She could not understand him, but he was civil towards her, he cared to some degree. She knew that there would be no love in this relationship, no tenderness, and she would not want it any other way.

Finding Francis, and him finally remembering her, gave her hope. She had a friend, which was more than she had in a long time. Someone to talk to honestly, someone she could tell anything to, someone who would care. Now that she had Francis with her no matter what, she felt secure. Whatever happened, she could at least have him to talk to. Alice now knew that she would never be alone again, and this fueled her determination and made her feel stronger.

She thought of Mattie, her memories of him bringing a small smile to her face. His face was etched permanently into her mind, so she'd never forget what she was fighting for. And now she was so close. A few steps and a few words away and she would have a chance at finding him. And a chance was all she needed. She was determined to find him, and now she knew for sure what she wanted to do. She never felt so sure in her life.

With a small smile still playing on her lips, she looked up at Francis. Determination shone in her eyes and Francis was a little surprised at how sure she was of herself now. "I am ready." He nodded and slipped his arm into the crook of her arm. He looked at her once more and she gave a little nod of reassurance. She looked straight ahead as Francis opened the door, and started to walk slowly. Music started to play, but Alice paid no mind. She walked on straight ahead, looking at nothing really, but thinking only about Mattie.

They made it to the end of the long walk, where Ivan was standing, with the groomsmen Alice recognized so well at his side. Next to her were women she did not know all dressed the same, she guessed those were the bridesmaids. She looked for any emotion in his face and could find none. His smile was believable to anyone who did not know what she and all the other men who worked for Ivan knew. Alice brightened her smile, and could have sworn that Ivan gave her a short nod of approval.

Francis let go of her arm "Bonne chance "he whispered before leaving. Alice gave him a quick nod and walked up the small stairs to stand where Ivan was. She stood in front of him and he took her hands as was custom. He looked at her and Alice could see that he was a bit shocked. _He thought I was going to back out. I won't for Mattie's sake._ Alice widened her smile and let the priest speak.

She did not even listen to all of it. She heard what he was saying but her mind was somewhere else. She needed to be somewhere else, so her mind would not start thinking about how weird this whole thing was. She thought about anything else, about how one of the guest's hair looked like a bird made a nest in her hair and laid eggs or how she had never once felt so cold in November or ever heard the wind howl so loudly.

She heard Ivan say his vows and she felt the ring slip onto her finger. She absentmindedly did the same, not forgetting to smile as she did it. And then they had to kiss. Alice looked at Ivan when the last words of the ceremony were said. He looked back at her, daring her to not kiss him.

Alice narrowed her eyes slightly and Ivan smiled. He put his arm around her, forcing her to come closer. Alice looked him in the yes but did not resist. Alice could have sworn that she saw him smirk.

Then he kissed her. It was a simple kiss, but it was Alice's first. She had never once kissed a boy, not because she was not attracted to men, but because she never had time to worry about relationships. When she was in elementary school, where most girls kissed boys for the first time, she was getting her first job. Boys liked her, but she never cared about that.

When she was in high school, where most girls were getting boyfriends, she was trying to earn money to live. That did not stop boys from asking her out or having crushes on her, but she turned them all down. Boyfriends were never on her list of important things, she did not have the luxury to worry about such dumb things. She never did care about relationships, but she admired those who had them, she was even a little jealous of them.

_His lips are soft…God I am doing this wrong aren't I? Wow his lips are cold…My face is so hot…Oh god, I am blushing like a blushing bride…wait that's what I am…Oh god._ It did not feel like anything, it was just a kiss. Alice was a little disappointed, she expected a little more. It was not like television or movies, it was just…nothing. Alice guessed it was because she did not have feelings for him. She kissed back, and instantly knew she was doing it wrong even though she never had any experience with kissing. She felt awkward and strange, he obviously knew what he was doing and she felt a little inferior. It made her angry.

Finally he broke away and looked into her eyes. Alice was blushing, she knew her face was red, she could feel her cheeks burning and her whole face felt hot. Now she knew for sure that he was smirking. He could see that she never kissed anyone, it was written all over her face, and the blushing did not help. She frowned for a moment, but smiled again as everyone started clapping. The priest announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Bragingski and the clapping grew louder.

He grabbed her hand and Alice resisted the urge to pull it away from him. As they walked down the aisle together, officially married Alice sighed in relief. It was over. They were married, now she could find Mattie. Nothing was stopping her. Guests clapped and waved saying their congratulations. Alice nodded towards them and gave a smile and a wave when needed. Ivan did the same; _He's a pro at this. I would be fooled if I did not know this marriage was fake. _Katyusha hugged her brother and Alice wishing them a happy marriage, before they broke away to leave.

They left the church and the guests followed, yelling happy remarks, waving, and wishing the new couple the best. Alice followed Ivan to the car waiting outside. He went inside and she followed suit. Ivan sighed and rubbed his eyes. Alice sighed as well; she did not realize that she was barely breathing the whole time. The driver started to drive to their next destination. "Where are we going?" Alice asked with a frown. "To the venue for the party." Alice raised an eyebrow "Party? I thought we were done." Ivan shrugged "It is part of the marriage. There is always a party afterwards."

Alice rested her head in her hands and frowned. She just wanted to leave. The whole marriage thing was taking too long for her liking. She could tell that Ivan felt the same way, because he sighed again and frowned. Alice's mouth hurt from smiling so much. "Have you not kissed anyone before?" Ivan asked with a smirk. _He knows the answer; he just wants me to look bad._ "Sorry, that I can't kiss amazingly when it's you that I am kissing." She answered sarcastically.

Ivan laughed to himself but did not say anything else. "But you seemed awfully eager to kiss me." Alice continued with a smirk of her own. Ivan smiled the same smile he wore all the time, "Please, Alice do you really think that I wanted to? If you would not have taken so long to kiss me, I would not have to make such a big show about it." Alice frowned but shut up.

Alice knew that he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him: not at all. She felt a little disappointed though, that her first kiss was some man she only knew for two weeks. It was her husband but…still.

Alice felt weird thinking she was married. She never thought that she'd be married while still being a teenager. She had never thought of marriage much, but she knew that eventually it would have been nice to be with someone. She had no chance of that now, not that she really wanted love at this point.

^ J ^

They arrived at the venue, a hotel. The hotel was huge and beautiful. Alice looked at the hotel with her mouth hanging open. She had never dreamed of going to a hotel like this for any reason, let alone marriage. It must have cost a lot to rent the hotel as a venue. Alice wondered why Ivan spent so much money on a big wedding when it was all a fake.

"It most have cost a lot to have this place rented." Ivan shrugged but gave no answer. Alice frowned "Why would you spend so much money on all of this if it's not even real?" "I have money, you know that. If I spent only a fraction of the money I could, people would notice, my sister especially. This way, it looks real." In reality, Ivan just sent some of his men to talk to the owner of the hotel. Ivan had known him and done him a few favors in the past. He made sure that they were repaid, and now he had the venue for free.

The car stopped and Ivan got out. Alice followed him. The front entrance of the hotel was just as grand as the rest of it. It was built so elegantly and classically. The style was beautiful without going overboard, with white marble on the outside and the inside furnished with simple and elegant furniture. They walked through the huge front doors and made their way through the lobby into the dining area, where the party was to be hosted.

The dining area could have easily fit two weddings and maybe even a third. Alice tried not to stare at all of the expensive-looking furnishings. The tables were all set in the same way, with sunflowers in vases as a center piece. The whole place was decked in white; the table cloths, decorations, everything was white. It was beautiful to say the least, and if it was not her wedding, Alice would have been excited.

They stood next to each other, waiting for their announcement as a couple. All of the guests stared with smiles on their faces. "Let us welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Braginski." Ivan put his arm around her waist and smiled at the guests. Alice tensed as he did this, but recovered and smiled just as brightly. _Mrs. Braginski? Ugh…What an ugly name. I will never get used to that…_ They walked down the steps into the dining area, where the guests eagerly awaited to talk to them.

"Congratulations, Braginski! I never thought you'd get married before me!" A tall red haired man exclaimed as he slapped Ivan on the back. Ivan smiled "Yes, me neither." The red haired man turned to Alice and shook her hand eagerly "Hello, I'm Constantine Edwards." Alice smiled "I'm Alice. Nice to meet you." The man chuckled.

"You really lucked out, didn't you Ivan?" He turned to Alice "Do you mind if I borrow him for a short time." Alice shook her head. "Excuse me, dear," Ivan said slowly. Alice inwardly shuddered when he said that "I have to go." She nodded and smiled at Constantine, giving him a small wave before being bombarded by a group of women.

"Dear you look so beautiful!" A short, plump woman with curly brown hair who looked to be in her forties exclaimed. Alice smiled at her "Thank you-"Another woman, this time a tall skinny blonde came and grabbed her hand "You **have** to tell me how you two met!" Alice tried not to frown as she was engulfed in the group of talkative women, each wanting to ask her about her dress, hair, or flowers.

Finally, Katyusha made her way through the group and grabbed Alice's hand "Ladies, Alice has been through a lot, give her time to relax please." The group of women groaned but let Alice be taken away. She sighed in relief "Thank you Katyusha." Katyusha sat down at a table near the long table filled with food. Alice sat down next to her. "You two must really love each other." Katyusha said with a smile. Alice smiled back but felt horrible lying to Katyusha; she was such a good person, and lying to her felt like she was hurting her…

"Yes, we do." Alice answered, trying to sound as in love as she could. "I have never seen Ivan smile this much…Well not for a while. You must really make him happy…" Alice felt uncomfortable talking about this, with every word Katyusha said, Alice felt more and more horrible. "What I want to say is, that I am really happy for the both of you. And that I hope we could become friends." The last bit of her sentence absolutely killed Alice.

Katyusha, who gave her the benefit of the doubt when Ivan told her that they were getting married, Katyusha who Alice was lying to, wanted to be friends with her. It broke Alice's heart to pieces and whatever she said next would not make it any better, even if she confessed (which she could not, not after all she had done) it would still hurt her. Alice grabbed Katyusha's hands and gave them a quick squeeze. "I would love to be friends with you. I never had a sister, so it's like getting a new one!"

"Thank you. You know, you look beautiful." Alice smiled "Really? Thank you. I love your dress too!" Katyusha's dress was long and blue. It was slightly sparkly and shimmered when she moved. It had straps that hung loosely off of her shoulders. Along with her hair styled nicely, and her rosy lipstick, she looked really pretty.

Katyusha smiled. "Thank-"she was about to continue when Alice's stomach grumbled loudly. _That's right I have not eaten all day… _She looked at Katyusha with a sheepish smile and patted her stomach "Sorry, I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving." Katyusha smiled "Me too. Do you want something to eat?" Alice nodded. "I think the first course is coming…" Katyusha said slowly, looking at the men carrying trays of food.

She signaled one over to them with a raise of her hand. The waiter knelt down and served each of them a bowl of soup. Katyusha thanked the waiter, and started to eat her soup. Alice looked at her soup, disappointed. She really expected to have a huge meal with all the trimmings. She liked soup, but right now she felt like she could eat a house. Katyusha noticed her looking sadly at the simple chicken soup. "You know," she explained "that there are more courses of food; this is just the first one."

Alice looked ata her like she had three heads "Really? Because I am so hungry right now!" Katyusha laughed "Yes, just wait and they will serve us the next course." Alice ate her soup quickly, it was delicious and she could not wait to taste the rest. If it tasted half as good as the soup, then she was sure that she would gain at least ten pounds by the end of the wedding.

^ J ^

Ivan followed Constantine outside, to the back of the hotel."What do you want Constantine?" Ivan asked with a frown. Constantine frowned back "What do you think you're doing, Ivan? Fighting the boss's brother? I am telling this because of our friendship, he's not too happy about it." Ivan shrugged "I have never gotten along with Gilbert, he knows that." Constantine nodded "I know that, you know that, we all know. But," he continued, lowering his voice "There is going to be a turf war soon if you don't stop this, Ivan." Ivan smirked "Turf wars happen all the time." Constantine shook his head "No, I don't just a turf war, Ludwig is getting greedy. He thinks he can take you on. Please don't give him any reason to fight you."

Ivan brushed his warning off "I know what I am doing, Constantine. I appreciate it, but I am the boss and I will do what I think is right. Ludwig has been quiet until now, but if he wants a fight, I will give him one." Constantine rubbed his forehead "Fine, but I warned you. Just be careful, Ivan. Ludwig doesn't play by any rules, and now that you just got married, he has another person that he can use against you."

"Thank you Constantine."Constantine nodded and left. Ivan started to leave as well when a hand touched his shoulder. Ivan turned around quickly and saw Gilbert standing in front of him with a smirk on his face. Ivan smiled "Gilbert. I knew you would come." Gilbert laughed "Kesesese! You know I can never miss a good part, Braginski.I wanted to give my congratulations." Ivan looked at him skeptically "What do you want?"

"West sends you his regards," Gilbert said "If I were you, I'd listen to your friend. West is getting tired, Ivan. He wants to wipe you out for good and I feel the same way." Ivan smirked "So he sends you to warn me? If West wants a fight, I will gladly fight him. I will not lose." Gilbert laughed "You're cocky, Braginski, just like your father. But look what happened to him. You wouldn't want to be killed in a gang war like your father, now would you?" Ivan frowned.

"Tell Ludwig that I am not afraid of him. Let him come, I will be here waiting." He looked at Gilbert, who crossed his arms over his chest "West and I are ready to go wolf hunting, white wolf. You watch yourself, because if there is one thing West is good at, it's winning." Ivan smirked and was about to answer when Alice walked out into the back of the hotel where they were.

"Ivan, they want you, it's going to be-"she stopped talking when she saw Gilbert staring at her. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was him and her hands clenched into fists. Gilbert laughed "Kesesesese! This is who you marry, Braginski? This girl? The one I got at a cheap price from her father!" Alice glared at him, if looks could kill; Gilbert would have been dead two times over.

"What is he doing here?" Alice asked angrily. Ivan cracked his knuckles and moved closer to him "He was just leaving…" Gilbert smirked "What are you going to do Braginski, send your whore on me?" He laughed again. Alice glared at him even harder and ran to punch him. Ivan grabbed her before she made any contact with him "Alice stop." She struggled to get out of his grip, but he was too strong. She settled on yelling every curse she knew at him.

Gilbert flashed a white smile at her "I wish I fought you harder for her, Braginski. I like them feisty." Alice flipped him off and yelled even more insults at him, while Ivan struggled to keep her away from Gilbert. Gilbert laughed at the scene and looked at his watch "It looks like it is my time to go, goodbye Braginski. " He turned to go and started to leave when he turned halfway around "Remember what I said, Braginski. West and I are coming, be ready."

"Get the fuck out of her you stupid prick-"Ivan covered Alice's mouth while she struggled to get out of his grip and chase after Gilbert. When Gilbert was out of view, Ivan uncovered her mouth and let go of her "What did you think you were doing?"

Ivan exclaimed. Alice looked at him like he was crazy "I was going to fight the mother fucker! What do you care, obviously he doesn't like you either!" Ivan ran his fingers through his hair "What did you think you were going to do?! He could snap you like a twig if he wanted to!" he said, exasperated.

"I could have taken him!" Alice yelled. Ivan grabbed her shoulders "Alice, he would have killed you if he wanted to. Don't get yourself into my matters, stay out of my business." Alice smacked his hands away "I don't care about your job." She started to walk away "Just come on, the guests want to talk to you." Ivan followed Alice back inside.

^ J ^

Arthur was sitting at the open bar, near the door, already drunk. When he saw Ivan walk in, he walked over to him and patted him on the back "You're a lucky man, Ivan…Alice is one beautiful woman." He winked at Alice who widened her eyes and backed away slowly. "Arthur, you're drunk." Arthur laughed "So I am, so I am…." He ran his fingers through his blond hair and grinned "Have a drink with me, Ivan. We can talk about life…" Ivan shrugged "I could use a drink. And get off of me" He pushed Arthur off of him and Arthur stumbled, falling on a tall, black haired woman wearing a very revealing dress.

"Tell your breasts to stop staring at me" Arthur mumbled to the woman. She blushed with anger and slapped him in the face "I didn't think you were that hot anyway, girly!" Ivan pulled Arthur by the collar and dragged him back to the bar. He sat Arthur down and sat next to him. "How much have you drunk?" he asked with a smile. Arthur held up seven fingers "Eleventeen." Ivan laughed and signaled the bartender over. "Some whiskey please….no gin!"Arthur exclaimed. Ivan shook his head at him and turned back to the bartender. "Do you want anything, sir?" the bartender asked lazily. "A shot of vodka, and some water for my friend."

^ J ^

Alice was so full, she was sure that her dress would rip she ate anymore. Katyusha laughed "You really can eat a lot!" Alice nodded with a satisfied smile on her face. A waiter came to them with two glasses of champagne. "Would you like any, miss?" he asked to Katyusha. She took a glass for herself and one for Alice. "Here, "she said, handing the glass to Alice. Alice frowned but took the glass anyway. Katyusha sipped on her drink slowly. Alice had never drunk before (minus the time Gilbert got her drunk, which was unwillingly)and she was curious. She looked at the bubbly mixture and held it up to her lips before taking a small sip.

It was…not bad actually._ Hmmm…Not bad at all. No wonder all the rich people drink this_.. She took a bigger sip and finished her whole glass. "That's pretty good, Katyusha." She said with a grin. Katyusha shrugged "It is alright. I do not really like to drink too much. Ivan does though." Alice ordered another glass of champagne and drank this one as quickly as the first. Katyusha looked over the room and turned to Alice "Where is Ivan, anyway?"

^ J ^

"God save the queen…." Arthur sang, his face buried in Ivan's chest. Ivan just laughed. He was not as drunk as Arthur (it took a lot more than "eleventeen" drinks to get him drunk)but he was working on it. He downed another shot and pushed Arthur off of him. "What are you singing?" Ivan asked with a chuckle. "It's my fucking national anthem." He raised his fist in the air and stood on the chair "Britain forever!"

Ivan laughed and grabbed him. "Sit down, Arthur; you are making a fool out of us." Arthur gave the finger to an older woman drinking champagne next to them "I'll fool who I want!" the older woman almost spit out her drink from being so surprised. She frowned at them and walked away. "Is is hot in here, or is it just me?" Arthur slurred. Ivan shook his head "It is fine." Arthur started un-buttoning his shirt and untied his tie "Arthur stop." Ivan said, trying not to laugh.

"It's my hot body; I'll do what I want!" Arthur yelled at Ivan. Ivan couldn't stop laughing; he was buzzed at this point, and having Arthur as a drinking buddy, just made him want to stop. "Arthur, you should stop drinking." Arthur stuck his tongue at him "I'm fine!" Francis walked over to Ivan "I heard something happened with you and Gil-"he was cut off when Arthur grabbed him by the collar and started to make out with him.

Francis pushed him off of him "Arthur? What the hell was that?" Arthur wiped his mouth and grinned "That was fucking true love right there, "he put his arm around Francis and Ivan "Have I told you two how much I bloody love you?" Francis laughed "Arthur, you are a mess. Even I don't want to have sex with you at this point." Ivan laughed and ordered them another round of shots.

^ J ^

"Where is Ivan?! The bride and groom's first dance is going to start." Alice exclaimed, searching the whole dining area for him. "Alice, are you alright?' Katyusha asked slowly. Alice swayed back and forth "I'm fine. I just feel a little weird. "Katyusha raised her eyebrows "I think you are drunk, Alice." Alice smiled "Really? Is this what it feels like?"

Katyusha had a frown on her almost always smiling face. "Do you know where Ivan is?' she asked Feliks, who was sipping on champagne with Toris. Feliks shook his head "I saw him, like an hour ago, with Arthur." Toris nodded "I think they were drinking, right Yao?" Yao was asleep on the table next to them, probably from drinking too much. Feliks laughed "He can't hold his liquor. I gave him, like two glasses of champagne, and he was done!"

Alice frowned "Where could he be?" Katyusha shook her head "He is probably drunk by now." Katyusha was about to say something else when someone grabbed her from behind. She spun around and saw it was Francis "Oh hello, Francis." She said "have you seen Ivan?" Francis nodded "You are look beautiful as always, Katyusha." Katyusha blushed "Thank you, but-"Francis put his finger on her lips and Katyusha stared at him with her eyes wide. He wrapped his arm around her waist "Francis, are you drunk?" "Shhhhh. Enough about that. That dress looks amazing on you, Katyusha,-"

He was about to go on when he was hit in the back of the head."Ow!" Ivan stepped from behind him with a smile on his face "Stop hitting on my sister." Francis frowned at him but stepped away, rubbing his head and mumbling "Cock block…" Katyusha frowned "Ivan where were you? This is your wedding; you are supposed to be dancing with Alice soon!" Ivan patted Katyusha on the head "Do not worry, sister. Where is Alice anyway?"

"I'm right here! I've been here the whole time!" Alice exclaimed. She was right in front of him. He looked down at her and giggled "Found you!" Alice hit her forehead with her hand. "Let's go, we have to dance." Ivan picked Alice up and carried her bridal style. "What the hell are you doing?!" Alice exclaimed. Ivan giggled and took his hand out from under her to poke her face "You are so cute, Fredka!"

Alice blushed and smacked his finger away "The fuck did you just call me?!" The guests were laughing and staring at Ivan and Alice as they made their way through the crowd to the dance floor cleared just for them. The guests laughed and exclaimed at how cute they looked. "Put me down!" Alice whispered angrily. Ivan did as he was told, and put her down gently. She was blushing bright red and the whole room felt like it was spinning. _I need to sit down…._

"It's time for the bride and grooms first dance." The leader of the band rented for the occasion said. Everyone cheered and the band started to play as soft song, perfect for slow dancing. Alice just stared at him, she did not know how to slow dance, and she'd have to rely on him knowing. And with Ivan being drunk, she was pretty sure this was going to end disastrously. Alice had watched enough TV to know how they were supposed to look like, so she grabbed Ivan's hand and put it on her hip.

She put her own hand on his shoulder and grabbed his other hand with her free hand, holding it out to the side. _I think this is how it's supposed to be done…_ She didn't know what to do now. Guests were starting to look confused. "Do you know how to dance?" Alice whispered to Ivan, who was still smiling foolishly. Ivan nodded and swayed from side to side.

Alice stood still; she didn't know how to do this. He wrapped his arm around her so she'd be closer to him. He grabbed her hand again and started to move again in the same way, moving Alice with him. Alice looked at her feet, so she wouldn't step on his. He took his hand away from her back and lifted her head up so she was looking at him. Alice raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

And then he kissed her. He kissed her for a second time. This time, it felt more real. _He's doing this because he wants to, not because he has to _Alice realized. It felt…nice this time. Not like before. She didn't stop him, but let him kiss her. Despite him being drunk and Alice being drunk as well, the kiss was gentle. He was gentle. Maybe it was just the champagne, but Alice felt nice having him kiss her. He kept his hand on her face while he kissed her and Alice felt his cool skin. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, doing just as he did.

Ivan made a small sound of surprise but continued to kiss her, while they still swayed in time to the music. She threw her arms around his shoulders and Ivan pulled her even closer to him. It took some maneuvering, on account of Ivan being so tall and Alice being so short (plus they were both drunk and dancing) but they finally were able to do both.

Alice moved away, and put her hand on his face to look into his violet eyes. _When did his eyes turn so pretty…?_ He stared back into her blue ones. "You are beautiful." He said simply. It was a simple thing to say for Ivan, she was beautiful, just like the stars in the sky, beautiful just like the sunflowers he loved so much, beautiful like white snow blanketing the Earth. She smiled genuinely and Ivan smiled back.

He took her hand in his and spun her around, making her dress swish out elegantly. She spun around and let herself be pulled back close to him. She giggled and followed his lead, dancing with him. They covered the whole dance floor, moving in time with the song. _Ivan is a pretty good dancer… _

"You dance nice." Alice mumbled to him, she felt tired, but she did not want to sleep, not when she was so close to him, not when she felt so safe. He just nodded. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She felt like they were dancing on air, floating above everyone but that might have just been the alcohol. _This isn't so bad…I could do stuff like this…_

The music stopped and they stopped dancing. Alice's smile fell. She wanted to stay like that forever, having someone hold her as they danced, both of them content. She wanted to be synchronized with him, to dance again, to feel the same she did. If she could feel that way every day, it would be heaven.

_Maybe that's why people love each other. Is this how it feels like?_ She was a little disappointed to say the least. Ivan grabbed her hand and Alice blushed again. They walked back from the dance floor, where guests made comments on how amazing they danced and how cute they looked together.

They walked over to Katyusha, who smiling at them softly. "You two are so great together." She gushed happily. Ivan looked down at Alice and smiled brightly; she looked back up at him and smiled just as brightly. "We are" Ivan answered, but looked at Alice when he said it. Alice felt perfect.

(Ivan's POV)

Everything Alice was doing looked graceful, every word she said he wanted to hear for the rest of his life, every time she looked at him, he smiled. She was beautiful, Ivan wondered if it was that she always was beautiful, or was it just the vodka. When he kissed her, he felt perfect. He felt like someone cared about him, he felt not all alone for once in his life.

Having her close to him was all he wanted. When she kissed him back, it was like firecrackers going off; he did not understand why he felt like this. He kissed many women and they all felt the same, Alice felt warm, inviting. He wanted to have her forever. If he could just stay dancing with her, he would be happy forever.

When she looked at him, he felt like he was important. He felt important that Alice would even look at him, with her blue eyes that captured him. And he wanted to be captured. If he could stay like this, dancing with her, his arms wrapped around her, he would be content. When she rested her head on his chest, he felt like they were the only people in the world. If Alice would have told him to do anything, he would have done it, if only to dance with her more.

When the music stopped, he felt like the perfect moment was being shattered. The illusion went away, as if the clock struck at midnight and the whole fantasy was over. He wished he could go back in time and just relive the moment over and over.

(Back to normal POV I guess :P)

The party was ending soon and most of the guests were getting ready to leave. Ivan sat down on one of the chairs near the entrance, with Alice sitting on his lap, half asleep. She burrowed her face into his chest and he held her tightly with one arm, as if letting his arm leave her side would make her go away. "Ivan?" Alice mumbled. He brushed a piece of hair away from her face "Hm?" She hugged him. "I just wanted to make sure you were still there…" she mumbled.

Katyusha was talking to Feliks, Toris, who was trying (unsuccessfully) to wake Yao up and Francis, who was carrying Arthur over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "They are such a cute couple!" Feliks gushed, gesturing at Ivan and Alice. Katyusha nodded. She was so happy for her brother, now that she knew he was alright. She knew that he'd be okay; he'd have someone to take of him and someone to take care of.

She walked over to them. "Ivan," Katyusha said gently. He stopped petting Alice's hair and looked up at her "Yes?" Alice was almost asleep now, but noticed that Ivan stopped. She made a whimpering sound and he looked down at her with a surprised expression. He blushed and continued to pet her again. "You'll be late for your flight if you don't leave soon." Ivan smiled lazily "What flight?" "The one to your honeymoon. I bought the tickets as a wedding gift. You should be going soon, or you will be late."

She looked at the clock and took out her phone "I will call you two a cab." Katyusha dialed a number and started saying their current destination. Ivan nodded, not really caring about any flight, or even knowing where they were going to. He just continued to look at Alice. "She's so cute when she sleeps." He said to no one in particular.

He woke Alice up by shaking her gently. "Hm?" she asked, still half asleep. "Change your clothes, we are going somewhere." He answered happily. She smiled and Katyusha escorted her to the bathroom, where she gave her an extra skirt and shirt."You are lucky that I brought extra clothes from your suitcase," she told Alice. Alice changed slowly and messily, but she finally got into the clothes. She returned and took her place again on Ivan's lap. She smiled and shut her eyes as if he was the comfiest thing in the world.

After a few minutes of trying to sleep she opened her eyes. Ivan tilted his head to one side. "What is wrong?" She yawned "I'm tired but I can't sleep…" He smiled "Close your eyes." Alice looked at him doubtfully but did as she was told. "I'm still awake." She said. Ivan laughed "What a second."

He cleared his throat and started to sing. He sang softly and he sang well. His voice was oddly high pitched when he sang, but that made it even more beautiful. Alice tried to understand what he was saying but soon realized that whatever he was singing, it was not in English. Still, she thought it sounded beautiful. He did not mess up a note, and glided from one note to the next with no difficulty. She tried to remember each word he said, even though it made no sense to her, it sounded so pretty how he sang it, so soft like a lullaby:

Густые облака Закрыли окно,Затмевая света луч.Как тихий кошмар,Прикрытый шарфом.

Я отправляюсь в свой путь...До свидания!Пусть даже сейчас,Я не понимаю...

До свидания!Туда, где кончается тьма...Словно желая абсолютного покоя,

Распускается цветок.Пожалуйста, пой!Горе не море, выпьешь до дна.Высокая метельПокрывает пятнами луну,Напуганную ветром.Моё чутьё разбуженоКриком ворона.Я начинаю свой путь...

До свидания!Что ждет впереди теперь, не знаю.До свидания!Стряхиваю эмоции свои,

Чтобы взглянуть сквозь истоки зла и добра.Я меняюсь! И вот теперь

Пою миру я...До свидания!Пусть даже сейчас,Я не понимаю...До свидания!Туда, где кончается тьма...Словно желая абсолютного покоя,Распускается цветок.Так пойте же скорей!Прощайте!До того дня, когда я смогу увидеть чистое небо.Прощайте!Смотрю в лицо тьме,Чтобы сосредоточить свои запутанные мысли.Прощайте!Густые облакаВ моем окнеЗатмевают светМимолетный кошмар...Надев свой шарф,Я начинаю идти...До свиданияДаже теперьЯ не понимаюДо свиданияВсе то, что лежит по ту сторону тьмы...Словно прося об абсолютной тишине,Распускается цветок!Пожалуйста, пойте!Горе не море, выпьешь до дна.Снежная буря так сильна,Что скрывает ЛунуИ пугает ветерМои инстинкт разбуженЗовом воронаЯ начинаю свой путь...

До свиданияЯ не знаю, что произойдетДо свиданияОсвобождаюсь от эмоций,Чтобы смотреть сквозь добро и злоЯ изменяюсь! И потомуЯ пою миру...До свиданияДаже теперьЯ не понимаю

До свиданияВсе то, что лежит по ту сторону тьмы...Словно прося об абсолютной тишине,Распускается цветок!Сейчас! Пойте...Прощайте!До того дня, когда я увижу чистые небеса

Прощайте!Встречаясь с тьмой,Я смогу собраться с мыслямиПрощайтеГустые облакаЗакрыли окно,

Затмевая света луч.Как тихий кошмар,Прикрытый шарфом.Я начинаю свой путь...До свидания!

Пусть даже сейчас,Я не понимаю...До свидания!Все то, что лежит по ту сторону тьмы...Словно желая абсолютного покоя,Распускается цветок.Горе не море, выпьешь до дна.Буря так сильна,Что скрывает ЛунуИ пугает ветерИнстинкт разбуженЗовом воронаЯ снова начинаю свой путь...

До свидания!Что ждет впереди меня, я не знаю.До свидания!Освобождаюсь от эмоций,

Чтобы найти истоки зла и добра.Я изменяюсь! И потомуПою миру я...До свидания!Пусть даже сейчас,Я не понимаю...До свидания!Все то, что лежит по ту сторону тьмы...Словно желая абсолютного покоя,Распускается цветок.Прощайте!До того дня, когда я увижу чистые небеса

Прощайте!Встречаясь с тьмой,Я смогу собраться с мыслямиПрощайте…

Alice drifted off to sleep, smiling as she heard him sing.

^ J ^

The cab came and Katyusha got up to escort them to it. She paid the man the money owed and tried to help Ivan and Alice in. Alice was asleep now, so Ivan had to carry her, which he did not mind at all. His sister opened the door for the both of them and he kissed her on the cheek softly. "Goodbye brother." She said softly. He nodded and got into the car awkwardly, trying not to wake Alice or hit his head on the car. They both got in, but Alice woke up. "Where are we?" Ivan yawned "In a cab, we are going to the airport I think." Alice closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder "Okay." She closed her eyes and tried to sleep some more, for some reason she felt so tired.

They made it to the airport. Alice was still awake, so they walked. Alice grabbed Ivan's held and held it. He smiled and walked with her to the boarding area. He handed the tickets to a woman behind the desk near the actual boarding part of the plane. She took their tickets and told them to have a nice flight. They made their way to their seats, the plane was not very crowded, so they had no trouble getting in.

They sat down in their seats, and Alice turned to Ivan "This was nice…This whole day." Ivan nodded "It was, Fredka…" She smiled "I don't even know what that means; but it sounds nice when you say it." He giggled. She laughed too. "I do not think that I will mind this…" Ivan said slowly. Alice raised her eyebrows and yawned "What do you mean Ivan?" He shrugged "This. I do not mind this. Or you. In fact, I like this." Alice smiled at him "And me?" He nodded, half-asleep. "I like you too."

She smiled "I like you too." His eyes were closed "Are you sleeping?" she whispered. He opened one eye and shook his head. "Go to sleep." He told her. Alice nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his hand over hers and they fell asleep together, synchronized.

. . My hands hurt. This took 2 days to type and revise which is why I am updating a day later. I hope it was worth the wait. Bye guys.


	16. Stepping On The Beach

Hey guys! Last chapter was so long wasn't it? I hope you guys all liked it, because I worked my typing fingers to the bone! XD That chapter was more than 2x the length of my normal chapters! I am so sorry, by accident I put the whole song Ivan was singing instead of an excerpt (the song was winter, but in a lullaby form) so sorry about that.

Also, I forgot to put a picture of Alice's dress 9yes there actually is a picture, I made up some parts of it since the picture was only of the back of the dress… I am not sure why…). I made my friends read this story (even the ones who did not know what hetalia was XD) and they like it! I still think they are just saying it to be nice though…except my friend Cheyenne, I am pretty sure she's not lying since she wants to do the whole collab story thing!

I am so excited about both of these stories! The new collab story (it has no name yet XD) is really upbeat and funny and silly, the opposite of this one, ha-ha. I want to put a happy story in between my other more serious ones, which is why I will do the collab before the Moulin Rouge story (yes I am still going to do it, so all of you who were excited, don't worry, I did not forget).

I want to do so many stories, but I want to take my time, make this one good, and then go on to the others. I am the kind of person who devotes all their time to one thing before going on to another. I mean I can multi task (quite easily actually) but I REALLY want this one to come out good!

BTW: Here is Alice's dress: (lol sorry it's so long, but it will show you the dress don't worry) imgres?q=simone+carvalli+wedding&start=125&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1404&bih=839&tbm=isch&tbnid=OzPygHWUyQl0LM:&imgrefurl= /2010/08/to-do-this-week-simone-carvalli-brickhouse-bridal-westlake-club-open-house-northwest-forest-open-house/&docid=AyFtd6DY_IwzAM&imgurl= &w=240&h=344&ei=MPLDUMiZGIXp0gHvw4GIDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=480&sig=111957209888818638155&page=3&tbnh=139&tbnw=97&ndsp=65&ved=1t:429,r:85,s:100,i:259&tx=65&ty=34

And this is Alice's theme song from last chapter XD: watch?v=-vHi83LTQjU

ALSO: Nicole B. there is a character in this chapter that is for you. You are welcome. :P

Thanks to all you guys that just started following and favoriting and thanks to all of you who have been following the whole time. I love you guys; you make an amateur writer very happy! Thanks for all the reviews, advice, and PM's! (Why does this sound like a goodbye? XD) I talk (type) too much. Here's the new story chapter :D

The cool breeze that one would feel when they were near the ocean struck Ivan in the face like a speeding train. He tried to open his eyes, but hastily closed them when he saw how bright the world was. He groaned and squinted his eyes shut. Ivan had not been this hung-over for a long time; probably since college...He tried to reach for something to cover his eyes with, because no matter how hard he shut them, the light shone through.

He tried grabbing feeling around for a pillow next to him, but instead felt another person's skin. His eyes popped open and he sat up quickly, almost falling out of bed as he did this. He shrieked and backed away on the bed, almost falling off the edge in surprise.

He looked around the room. This was not his apartment. The person (who he noticed was a woman) next to him was fast asleep (and obviously was a heavy sleeper) and hogging the whole covers to herself, being wrapped inside of it like a cocoon. Ivan's face flushed to white.

_God, who did I bring home? I knew I should not have gotten drunk at…where was I last night anyway?! _He saw the woman's figure rise and fall steadily. He leaned over slowly, as to not wake the woman, to try to see her face. It would be horrible if he actually knew her…He grabbed the cover and slowly pulled it away from the woman's face, holding his breath as he did so. His eyes widened as he saw wavy dirty blonde hair peek out. _Oh no, please do not tell me that it is who I think it is… _He pulled the covers back even more and leaned over even more to try to confirm who the woman was. _Please do not be Alice…_

He leaned over even more and his fears were confirmed. Ivan drew back quickly, trying to back away from Alice and accidently fell over on top of her. Alice's eyes shot open and she shrieked. She looked up and saw Ivan on top of her, his eyes just as wide as hers.

Neither moved for a moment, they stared at each other, trying to figure out how all of this happened. Then Alice gasped as if she just remembered that Ivan was on top of her. She pushed him off of her and then jumped out of the bed.

Ivan fell on the floor (with his head braking his fall) with a thud. Alice backed away from him with her eyes wide and confused. Ivan groaned and rubbed his head which was now throbbing from a headache and a new bruise. She looked at what she was wearing, it was not normal pajamas, she was wearing a sheer silk slip from a dress along with a bra and underwear underneath.

She pointed at him with a shaky finger "What the fuck happened? Where am I? What am I wearing? Why are you almost naked? And why does my head hurt so much?! Am I hung-over?! Fuck, I am hung-over again aren't I?! Where is-"

Ivan covered his ears and groaned as she yelled. "Shut up already!" he yelled back. She glared at him but closed her mouth. Ivan got up and brushed himself off from the fall. He looked at her with a confused expression and Alice stared back skeptically. Ivan thought for a moment and then hit his fore head.

"It was our wedding!" he exclaimed. Alice stared at him for a moment, trying to remember and then face palmed "Oh fuck you're right!" she rubbed her eyes. "But wait," she continued, still rubbing her eyes "Where the fuck are we, this is not your apartment."

"It was Katyusha, she sent us on our honeymoon…" Ivan groaned and ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. Alice thought for a moment and remembered. She remembered everything, getting dressed early, hugging Francis, trying to fight Gilbet, drinking champagne, dancing with Ivan… her eyes widened and her face blushed bright red when she remembered everything after the champagne. Ivan seemed to remember too because he stared at her with an embarrassed expression.

"Alice, I want you to understand that everything that happened last night-""That!" Alice exclaimed loudly, trying to cover her red face even more as the blush spread from her cheeks to her nose and her ears. "That," she repeated "can't ever happen again!" Ivan stared at her, he thought she would have had a crush on him or at least be infatuated a little from all that happened the night before.

That kiss meant nothing to her? He knew that they were both drunk but…"Do you understand?!" she yelled at him. Ivan snapped out of his daze and nodded "Of course, that cannot happen. I am just surprised that-never mind." Alice looked at him again skeptically "That was a huge mistake… It can't happen again…" she said softly, more to herself than anyone.

Ivan looked at her with a confused expression "You are right Alice; this will not happen again, it cannot. We have a deal." Alice nodded "Of course, yes, we have a deal." She shifted uncomfortably "by the way, since we are married now, I was wondering…could you, you know, start with the whole 'finding my brother thing'?"

Ivan ran his hand through his hair (it was a habit of his to do this when he was annoyed) "Yes, fine. I would if we were at my apartment and not in the middle of-where are we anyway?" Alice's eyes widened "I though you knew!" Ivan rubbed his head "Do not yell. I will call my sister to see where we are… Where is my phone?"

Alice looked under the bed where she found her glasses instead. She wiped them and put them on hastily. She turned quickly and got wrapped in the cover she was using to cover herself up. She tripped on the edge of the covert and fell on the ground. "Alice what are you doing?" Ivan asked from the other side of the bed, where he was searching for his phone.

"Oh nothing," Alice said sarcastically as she got up and rubbed her thigh where she could feel a new bruise coming in "just checking out the floor. What do you think I am doing?! I fell." Ivan sighed "Then take off that stupid sheet."

Alice struggled, but wriggled out of it, throwing it on the floor. She heard a thud, it sounded like plastic hitting something hard. Alice grimaced and she looked through the bundle of sheets. She found his phone buried in between the covers.

"Here," she said handing the cell phone to him. He took it from her and dialed a number quickly. He waited and waited as the phone rang. He frowned when no one picked up. He stopped the call and looked at Alice "She's not picking up." Alice sighed "I guess we investigate by ourselves."

^ J ^

Alice changed into a pair of sweat pants and a light cotton shirt, from the sound of crashing waves and the warm rays of light; she suspected that it would be hot outside. Ivan put on a pair of jeans and a plain blue tee shirt.

They both slipped on sneakers and left the room. Ivan closed the door and looked around. Their hotel room overlooked a beach with bright blue, crashing waves and light white sand. The sun was shining and there were palm trees growing. Alice's eyes widened in astonishment "Where are we…?"

A man wearing white pants and a bright smile walked over to them. "I am sorry, are you two the Braginski's, room 205?" Ivan nodded "Yes, can I help you?" he asked coldly. The man did not seem to notice Ivan cold attitude and smiled even brighter "Your luggage came late last night. If you would like, I could have someone deliver it to you now."

Ivan nodded and waved the man off "Yes, fine. Thank you." The man left and came back a moment later, this time followed by another, shorter man with hazel eyes and the same bright grin. They were both carrying packages of luggage.

They walked into their room and set the luggage down gently. They left the room and were about to leave when Alice stopped them "Excuse me, but where are we?" The first man looked at them as if they asked what color the sky was "You are in Hawaii of course." Alice and Ivan looked at each other, both thinking the same thing:

'_What do we do now?'_ The man looked at them with a smile, but his face showed that he was confused "Is that all?" he asked. Ivan nodded. The man left and Alice looked at Ivan, trying to see what their next move was. "So," she said slowly "are we staying, or what?

"What? No we are leaving. I have too much to do back in New York, Alice. You do not understand." He remembered Gilbert's warning. If what he said was true, that meant Ludwig and Gilbert could start a gang war at any moment. Ivan had to be ready. "Aren't you the one who said that the marriage should look real?" Ivan frowned at her

"So, you want to stay here?" Alice shrugged "I wouldn't mind it, I mean, I have never really been anywhere outside of New York…" Ivan shook his head "No, we are leaving. Pack up your clothes, we are going now. I will buy us two tickets to New York and we will be home before night time."

Ivan checked in his pockets for his wallet. "Fine," Alice said slowly "But what will your sister think?" Ivan looked up from checking his pockets and glared at her. They had a standoff, with Ivan glaring and Alice frowning, both not wavering. Alice knew she would win this round. She did not know much about Ivan, but she did know that his sister was important to him, so if she was suspicious or her feelings were hurt, then he would not be able to stand it. "Fine." He answered finally.

Alice grinned her 100 watt grin she had perfected over the years. "Yes!" she exclaimed. She started to open their luggage and searched through her bag. Ivan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "We will stay, but we are not going-" he was cut off "Oh look at these! Oh I think they are presents! That is so awesome! I wonder who it's from!" she exclaimed happily. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SHUTTING UP?!" Ivan yelled loudly. He rubbed his aching head. Alice covered her ears "Ow! You know I have a migraine, god…" Ivan clenched his fists and resisted the urge to yell even more.

"Look," Alice said, being quieter this time. She handed him a package. It was a small rectangular white box. A note was tapped on it. Written in loopy cursive was a message. It read: "I saw this and thought of you. I hope you like it. Think of it as a wedding present. –Francis." Ivan handed the box back to her.

She opened the box quickly and pulled out a string bikini that had bright yellow sunflowers printed on it. "Ha-ha! Francis is the best! He already knew that Katyusha bought us tickets and he even bought these. That's so cool of him! Wonder why he got me sunflowers though….that's a bit weird…" Ivan stared at the bikini and Alice. Francis knew about the honeymoon the whole time, he knew where they were going; he probably even helped plan it._ I will kill Francis when I get back to New York._

"There's one for you too." She handed him another box that had another not tapped to it: "I know you will love this. Katyusha and I picked it out together.-Francis" Ivan was a bit scared to see what Francis bought him. He opened it slowly and took out a pair of swim trunks with the American flag printed on them. "Lucky!" Alice exclaimed with jealousy. Ivan breathed out through his nose loudly and held out the swim trunks as if they were garbage.

"Have them then, I do not want these hideous things." He threw them to Alice who looked at him angrily. "It's a nice present! Hey, I don't even really like sunflowers and he sent me a bikini with them on it. I think it's nice of him. At least put it back in your luggage so you don't look like a jerk." Ivan rubbed his forehead.

"It does not matter; I am not going to go to the beach." Alice stared at him "Are you insane?! We are in Hawaii, you know that right? How are you **not **going to do anything! It's beautiful!" He sat down on the floor and looked through his baggage. "I am going to stay inside and try to get over this hang over."

"What? Come on, I don't feel well either, but I wanna have fun here. Just take an Advil or something and then come with me!" she exclaimed. Ivan shook his head "I would rather stay inside, where you are not here to yell at me." Alice shrugged and continued looking through her luggage. There were a bunch of new clothes packed in with the others, courtesy of Francis.

Ivan was not going to see any more of the outfits Francis picked out for him, he was sure they would all be jokes, just like the swimming trunks. Alice took out a pair of blue denim shorts, a baby blue tee shirt with the superman symbol on the front,and a pair of yellow flip flops. She slipped on the flip flops and walked to the bathroom.

Ivan dialed Francis' number on his phone. He waited as the phone rang. "Hello?" "Francis you knew we were going to go on this stupid honey moon." Francis laughed and Ivan wanted nothing more than to be in New York so he could punch him in the face. "Yeah I did know. Katyusha wanted help planning it out, so I helped…Did you get my present?" Ivan really wished he could punch someone over the phone "Yes, we did. I hate you." Francis laughed again "I love you too buddy. So, are you having fun?" Ivan rubbed his eyes.

"No, I have a hangover from last night, I woke up next to Alice, who pushed me onto the floor, I don't-" "Wait!" Francis exclaimed "You two slept together?! I know you were both hitting on each other, but wow, Ivan." Ivan groaned "No I did not sleep with her. Well I did, but not in that way." Francis laughed "She must have been happy to see you."

"Yes, so happy that she almost gave me a concussion." Franics laughed again "Oh Alice…Did she like the present?" "Yes, but she does not even know why you sent her sunflowers. Are you trying to make us a matched set? " "It's a joke Ivan, not a dick, don't take it so hard."

Ivan was about to curse at him when Alice walked out of the bathroom. She smiled at him "Are you sure you don't want to go, Ivan? I mean it's beautiful outside. And I know we are not really married but still that doesn't mean we can't have fun! Let's just make the most of this awesome trip!" Ivan stopped talking on the phone and stared at Alice. She was wearing the sunflower bikini top that showed off her ample chest and denim shorts. She looked at where Ivan was looking and frowned. She pulled the tee shirt over her head and smoothed it down over her body.

"Ivan?"Francis asked. Ivan blinked and went back to his phone call. "Sorry, that was Alice coming out of the bathroom." Alice grinned "Is that Francis? Oh let me talk to him!" Ivan pushed her away and she fell on the ground. "Well fuck you too then!" Alice said angrily. "Is that Alice? Let me speak to her!" Francis said on the other line. Ivan handed her the phone.

"Hi Francis! Yeah, thanks for the bathing suit you are the best, dude…Yeah Ivan didn't like his. I know! I told him the same thing but he doesn't want to…yeah, ha-ha! Alright. Okay. Well, okay. I will take to you later then. See you!" she handed Ivan the phone back. "Hello?" "Ivan go outside and have some fun, I got the whole job covered.

You can trust me, I am the underboss." Ivan bit his lip "I know, I am not leaving Francis and I trust you but…You do not know what could happen. Just, be careful, yes?" Francis sighed "Ivan I will be fine, the whole place will be fine. We will all be fine okay? Now just go have fun with your wife." "Don't call her that." "Fine, bye then." "Goodbye."

Alice looked at him "Well? Are you coming or not?" Ivan groaned "Fine, just let me change my clothes." He picked up a pair of denim shorts, a green shirt and socks. Alice jumped up and down and threw her fist in the air "This is gonna be so awesome!"

She waited impatiently for Ivan to finish getting dressed. Finally, when he was done Alice cheered again "Yeah! This is gonna be so cool, I have not gone to the beach in a while! Hey, where are your swim trucks, aren't you gonna bring them?" Ivan frowned "No. I said I was going outside, I never said that I would swim with you."

"What?! Oh come on, that is the best part. I will bring them just in case." She smiled at him and ran outside. Ivan found the card to enter and leave the room and closed the door, bringing the card along. He walked outside with Alice, who did not seem to care that she had a hangover, as she skipped around and chatted on and on about all the different sights and activities they could do. "How do you not feel sick, Alice?" Ivan asked in amazement.

Alice shrugged "Actually I feel pretty shitty, but I am just really excited right now!" They walked down the stairs, to the lobby. "I am going to find some medicine for this headache. Do you want anything Alice?" Alice shook her head "No, just meet me at the beach when you're all done." Ivan shrugged and went to the head desk where a short woman with short brown hair with light orange streaks in it was typing on a computer. "Can I help you?" she asked sweetly.

Ivan rubbed his head "Yes, could you tell me where I could get medicine; I have a really bad headache." The girl nodded "One moment please," she went behind the desk where there was a medicine kit and took out a small package of Advil. She handed it to him "Here you go. Anything else?" "Yes, where could I get some water to take these?" She looked around the lobby and pointed to a vending machine near the entrance of the hotel. "Thank you." Ivan said quickly. The woman waved a quick goodbye and went back to typing on her computer.

^ J ^

Alice walked to the beach where the sand was fine and soft and felt good in between her toes. She raised her hand to cover the tops of her eyes and she continued walking. The beach was almost secluded, save a family with two little boys running around, a group of old women in the shade of a palm tree, and a tall man setting up a set of blankets. Alice set down Ivan pair of trunks neatly and lay her glasses on top of them. She took off her shirt and put that on top of his shorts as well. Then she wriggled out of her shorts and waited for Ivan to come.

Meanwhile, she sat down in the sand and brought up her knees to her chest. She wriggled her toes in the sand happily and looked at the whole scenery. The beach looked like something out of a travel magazine. The water was bright blue, the sand nice and white, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Alice would not mind living in a place like this….

"Admiring the scenery?" an upbeat voice asked. Alice looked up and saw the man she noticed earlier. She smiled and nodded "Yeah, it's really pretty here. Are you here on vacation?" The man nodded "Yeah, I'm supposed to be here with my friend, but he's asleep as always, the idiot. So I came to the beach to just hang out I guess. I'm Sadik." He sat down next to her "I'm Alice." She extended her hand and he shook it with a grin. "So where'd you come from?" He asked her "New York," Alice answered simply "And you?" "I came from Greece, which is where I was visiting my friend. It's much nicer here, don't you agree?" Alice nodded and laughed."Yeah, it's so peaceful here; I could really just sleep here right now." He laughed along. "Yeah. I want to visit as much of the mainland as I can before I go." Alice nodded "I want to too! This place seems like so much fun!"

Sadik nodded "I heard there are volcanoes you can visit and there are places you can shop at too and a bunch of places you could eat at. I'm going to try to do all of that before I go, but I am only staying a week, what about you?" Alice shrugged "Not sure exactly how long, but I don't think it's more than a week." "Aren't you going to swim or something?" Alice nodded "Yeah I guess I should, that is what you do at a beach." She laughed, got up, and brushed away the sand the stuck to her.

Sadik did the same "You mind if I go with you?" Alice shrugged "Why would I?" She walked to the edge of the water and put her foot in. Surprisingly, the water was not very cold. It was actually pretty warm compared to the water in New York.

Sadik walked into the water and Alice followed him "Wow the water is so clear you can see your hand!" She peered at her hand underwater and saw a figure dart in between them. "Woah! What was that?" Sadik laughed "I'm pretty sure that's a fish." Alice laughed "Sorry, I'm not really used to having fish in the water, at least not any you can feel."

She looked at the beach and saw Ivan's figure walking toward the water's edge. She waved "Excuse me a second, Sadik." She said quickly. She ran out of the water and ran up to Ivan. "Hey Ivan! Did you get any medicine?" He nodded "Yes I did. Who is that?" Alice smiled "Oh, that's Sadik. I met him here while I was waiting for you. Aren't you going to swim?" Ivan shook his head. "I do not really feel like swimming."

Alice shrugged "Alright then." She ran back into the water. Ivan sat down on top of his short and watched Alice talk excitedly with Sadik who laughed very so often. Alice laughed loudly and covered her mouth as she laughed even harder. Sadik talked back to her and she nodded. Ivan looked around at the other sights at the beach. No one besides a group of old women and a small family were there.

Now Alice was pointing at a fish in the water and making a comment that seemed to be funny since Sadik started cracking up. She shrugged and he accidently splashed her with water. She put her hands on her hips and grinned. Then she splashed him back. Soon they were splashing each other like children. They laughed so loud Ivan could hear them all the way on the beach.

He sighed as Alice giggled some more. She really was having fun, and it was so boring, doing nothing. He got up, picked up his swim trunks and left. Alice watched him leave from the water. She looked at him with a confused expression before talking with Sadik once more.

^ J ^

Ivan came back a few minutes later, dressed in the new shorts Francis got him. He walked down the beach and into the water where Alice was having a very lively conversation with Sadik about whether football should be called soccer or soccer should be called football. Ivan walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. "Oh hey Ivan!" Alice exclaimed "I thought you said that you didn't want to swim!" He shrugged "I changed my mind." Ivan smiled at Sadik who backed away a little when he saw his smile.

"Ivan this is Sadik, Sadik this is Ivan." Ivan smiled wider and waved, Sadik looked at him doubtfully. "Hello, nice to meet you." Ivan said politely. Sadik was starting to get really creeped out by Ivan's smile. He tapped Alice on the shoulder "I'm going to go check if my friend is awake yet…See you." Alice nodded "Alright, bye then!" Ivan waved "He left quickly." He said, slightly disappointed. Alice shrugged.

"This is so awesome!" Ivan nodded and smiled "Yes, it is very nice here." Alice looked in the water for a fish. "Here is one!" Ivan told her. She looked at the fish and then at Ivan, who was watching the fish intently as it swam back and forth lazily. Sh watched his dart to watch the fish like a cat. She never noticed that his eyes were so violet. _What a weird color, but it does look very pretty on him._

His eyes reminded her of her brother's, they were almost the same odd shade of purple that seemed unnatural, but so beautiful. She watched him watch the fish. Then he looked up at her and Alice looked away quickly. "What are you looking at?" he asked. She splashed him playfully as an answer. He smiled and splashed her back. "Oh I see how it is!" Alice exclaimed. She hit the water with her hand, splashing him in the face. She smiled creepily and splashed her back, this time he slapped his whole underwater quickly, so that the water splashed her entirely.

Her eyes were closed and water was dripping down her whole face. Her hair was messy from the water hitting her and she spit out sea water from her mouth. Alice frowned at him and picked a piece of seaweed off of her arm "I am sorry Alice, I really did not mean to do that." He said sincerely with a giggle "Sure you didn't." Alice said sarcastically. "You win this time, Ivan." He chuckled and tried to pick a piece of seaweed out of her hair. Alice flinched a little from the contact. "Hold on a minute, there is a piece in your hair."

Alice bit her lip, she did not want him this close to her, it was weird. But she could not help but look at him as he tried untangling the seaweed from her hair. Ivan was not a bad looking guy, it would be a lie to deny that. Plus, he wasn't so bad once you got to know him a little more. Sure he was a little creepy at times and sometimes really temperamental, but he was also kind and sweet when he wanted to be. He could have been rude to her the whole trip but he chose to be nice to her, he did a lot of things for her, and Alice could not help but feel grateful.

Still, why did her heard bear faster when he touched her and why did she want to talk to him all the time, to find out more about him and to be close with him? It felt weird; this feeling _Feels like you have a stomach ache but not really…like you are holding your breath but you are not actually…feels like you want to say things but can't because your mouth is all dry…_ Ivan flicked the piece of seaweed away and patted her head. It was a good thing the sun was in Ivan's eyes or he would have seen her blush.


	17. Stepping On The Beach: Part 2

Hey guys! What's new with you? I just a Christmas tree, finally! I mean it's not Christmas without a tree! Also, me and my two friends are all going to dye our hair.

I'm bleaching mine to white, my friend wants to dye the tips of her hair but she can't choose (I say electric blue like Hatsune Miku!) and my other friend wants to dye her hair blue black (which I personally think is kinda boring) :/. I'm gonna wait to dye it though, because my hair is short (well not really, it's just not that long) and yeah…

Maybe it's because I am in high school or the ever funny stereotype that I am a teenager, but I feel like changing everything about me (I mean not my personality, I will still be the same pervy doofus I always am) but I mean my body.

Like, going on a diet, dying my hair, all this shit, it feels good…I feel good! And I feel pretty good about this, about everything…like my new friends and school and everything. This is gonna be a good 4 years.

Sorry for that unawesome thinking, :/ that was LAME. XD I want to get out of school already, I mean IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS AND I JUST WANT TO EAT COOKIES AND OPEN PRESENTS AND GIVE PRESENTS TO MY FRIENDS…

Yeah. I'm too weird today. :/ Sorry about this chapter, I know it's not going to be very good, I can feel it in my boob (heart). XD But I will try! Also I am adding more spaces between paragraphs and stuff, I feel that they are too squished and that annoys the fuck out of me.

So tell me if you like the new layout, okay?So yeah, hope you like this…Thanks for all the reviews, follows,and faves! I WANT TO KISS EACH OF YOUR FACES! I'm gonna do a back flip! *attempts to and falls flat on my face* THAT WAS FOR YOU GUYS!

Here's the chapter: :D

CHAPTER 17

"Ivan don't you want to swim with me?" Alice called out happily. Ivan was sitting down in the shade of an umbrella by the pool near the pool of the hotel. He looked through his phone but didn't answer. Alice rolled her eyes "Hello?" He looked up from his phone with a frown. "Do you realize what day it is?" he asked.

She shrugged and waded around in the pool lazily "I don't know, Monday?"

"It is Thursday."

Alice's eyes widened, the vacation (she refused to call it a honeymoon, it still felt weird that she was married to him) went by faster than she thought it would have. Tomorrow they'd be going back to New York. She felt a little disappointed…

"Wow that went by fast. Guess time goes by fast when you're having fun, you know?" She went underwater and came out a moment later and spit out pool water "Look I'm a fountain!"

She looked at him with a grin. Ivan face palmed "Can you pay attention, Alice?" She groaned "Well, who cares? And why are you in the shade being boring? Come in the pool!" He looked at his iphone again and scrolled down the page he was on. Alice glared at him "You know, you were having fun like, three days ago! What the hell dude?"

She liked Ivan when he was having fun, being nice to her, now he was distant and it annoyed her. "It was fun, yes, but I have other, more important things to handle now..." He answered coldly without looking at her. Alice stared at him, he seriously had bipolar disorder! "Who cares, you are on vacation!"

"I know you will not understand, seeing as you are still a child, but I have important things to do back in New York, things more important than swimming." Alice's eyes widened in anger "I am not a child! I am 18, and if you haven't noticed that means I am an adult under the law!"

"Age does not have to do with how childish you act."

"I guess so since you're acting like a fucking 80 year old man, not having any fun!"

"Only immature people need to curse to get their points across."

"Then I'm the fucking queen of immaturity, bow down motherfuckers!"

He sighed and went back to his phone. She stuck her tongue out at him; Alice officially gave up on him, if he didn't want to have fun, fine. She'd do it on her own. She swam to the ladder on the side of the pool and climbed out.

She twisted her hair with her hands, squeezing all the water from it. The people sitting on the chairs around her (especially the men) stared at her. She smiled at their stares, not realizing that half of them were checking her out while the other half were wishing they looked like her. She looked at Ivan, who was not even noticing her and frowned.

She walked up to him and grabbed the towel that was next to him and dried herself with it. He handed her her glasses, not bothering to even look at her. "I'm going to go." He didn't answer but dialed a number on his phone. She frowned "I'm going to go now!" she said louder. He nodded and waved goodbye.

"Ugh, why do I bother with you!" she grabbed the rest of her things and stomped away, walking from the poolside to the path that led back to the hotel. "Stay by yourself for all I care!" She wriggled into her denim shorts and threw on her blue tee shirt as she walked away angrily. She tied her hair up and chewed on her lip angrily.

What was wrong with him, did he not notice that she was trying to be nice, to be friends with him! He didn't even try to meet her halfway!

"He doesn't know what he's missing! I'm trying to be nice to him, and all he does is wave me away! What a…ugh!" she bumped into another person, knocking her glasses off and making her fall down.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" the man who she walked into exclaimed as grabbed her hand to help her up. She got up and rubbed her back, which hurt from the fall "No, it's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going anyway."

"Oh, Alice! Nice to see you again." The man said. "Huh?" The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. He picked up her glasses and handed them to her. She hurriedly put them on and the world became clear again.

The man's familiar brown hair, tanned skin, and smiling face came into view."Oh, Sadiq! It's nice to see you too! Damn, sorry about that!" He laughed "It wasn't your fault, you were obviously really deep in thought about something…Oh, Alice, this is my friend Cheyenne."

She looked at the smiling curly haired girl standing next to him. The girl wore a purple bathing suit and had pink tips in her hair, and wore brown sandals and a rainbow towel wrapped around her waist. She was putting on denim shorts as Alice and Sadiq spoke. Alice instantly felt sorry for not noticing her.

"Oh hi, sorry I didn't see you there." Alice said with an embarrassed smile. The girl flapped her hand (which reminded her of Feliks) "No problem. I'm Cheyenne." Alice shook her hand "I'm Alice." Cheyenne smiled and pulled a yellow tube top over her head.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what's wrong?" Sadiq continued. Alice waved him off "It's nothing, just some shit with my…Ivan." She felt awkward saying husband, so she didn't mention it to him. "Oh…him." Sadiq said awkwardly.

Alice shrugged "Yeah, you know…well, it was nice meeting you two." Alice said as she started to head back to the hotel.

"If you want you can hang with Sadiq, Heracles, and I!" Cheyenne called.

Alice turned around "Really you don't have to invite me, it's alright." Cheyenne rolled her eyes, "No, I'd rather have another girl to hang with anyway, the both of them are so annoying sometimes." Sadiq frowned at her "Heracles is the annoying one, and why are you-"Cheyenne pushed his face away.

"I mean, yeah if it's okay, then sure I'll hang out with you guys." Alice walked back over to the pair.

"Great! We were just coming back from the beach, as you can see." She gestured to her bright purple bathing suit. "We were going to get Heracles and go to the city, maybe do some looking around and shop a little."

"You in?" Sadiq asked with a grin.

^ J ^

Alice sat next to Cheyenne in the bright blue and yellow tour bus. Heracles (who Alice thought was very nice, if not really sleepy) sat next to Sadiq, who sat next to Cheyenne. Heracles looked over to Alice "So, what are you in Hawaii for?"

"Just to go on vacation." She said simply. Cheyenne nodded. "Us too, needed a break from college, you know?" Alice nodded, not knowing at all. "_He's _always taking a break." Sadiq said as he nudged Heracles awake. Cheyenne rolled her eyes "Don't get the wrong idea, these two idiots love each other." Sadiq frowned "That was a one time thing, Cheyenne I told you." Heracles laughed "That's not what you said yesterday."

Alice smiled awkwardly and thankfully Heracles changed the subject to something broader and less strange than his love life.

"It's so pretty here right?" he said with a smile. He looked outside of the tour bus windows, where they could see palm trees and flowers on the side of the road pass by quickly as the car drove by. The sun was shining bright and there were no clouds in the sky. Birds flew from the trees to the beach, and everything seemed so calm and beautiful. Even the air felt cooler, fresher, and nicer.

Alice nodded in agreement "It's really pretty here, and the beaches are the best!"

^ J ^

Alice, Cheyenne, Heracles and Sadiq walked through the city of Honolulu, looking at all the things to buy and eat. Going inside stores and checking out clothes and souvenirs they couldn't afford. Cheyenne ended up tripping over the curb of the sidewalk and breaking her sandal and scraping her knee, so she bought a pair of bright green flip flops and pony band aids.

Heracles tried chasing a stray cat they saw and Sadiq had to pull him out of traffic. Sadiq yelled at a street vendor selling shaved ice that was very overpriced until he drew a crowd and the man was forced to give him the food for half the price. Alice looked in every store and tourist shop she could. All four of them ended up being incredibly tired and satisfied when they went back on the bus.

"This was nice." Heracles said sleepily. He then proceeded to fall asleep, and he slipped into Sadiq's lap. Sadiq's eyes widened and he looked at Cheyenne for help. She laughed and shrugged. "It was nice meeting you, and I wish we could hang out more." Cheyenne said sadly. Alice nodded "Yeah, me too."

They all got out of the bus when it reached the front of the hotel. Sadiq held Heracles, who refused to wake up, in his arms and frowned. Cheyenne took a piece of paper out of her purse and scribbled on it. "Here, it's my phone number. Call me sometime, okay?" Alice took it happily and put it in her pocket.

"I will. It was awesome hanging out with you three!" They waved and left, with Alice going back to her hotel room and the three going to their own.

Alice walked back to her hotel room happily. It was nice hanging out with other people than Ivan. He was nice, but sometimes he was just too grown up for her, she needed to have fun, and while it was alright to work, she thought Ivan took it to the next level.

_It's not like they are all going to die if he doesn't get back to work…_ She just could not understand him. She sighed and knocked on the door of their hotel room.

Ivan opened the door and frowned at her "Where were you?" he asked sternly. Alice smiled "I went out, like I said I would. Why? Did you miss me?" she asked mockingly. He frowned "No," he said sincerely "I just don't want to be late on the plane because you wake up late."

"Oh." She said, a little disappointed. "Well, you don't have to worry, because I'm here." He shrugged "We should probably go to sleep…" He looked at the bed awkwardly. They had been sharing the bed the whole trip, but doing it over and over again did not make it any weirder.

"Uh…yeah." I'll go change. Alice grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom quickly. She did not necessarily mind sleeping next to Ivan. He was a nice guy when he needed to be, but he was just so cold (literally and figuratively).He wasn't totally horrible, he was just a little too into his work.

Why couldn't he just do what Alice did, lay back and not care about the world, going with the flow would be good for him. She took off her clothes and changed quickly. She brushed her teeth and took her hair out of the bun it was in and left the bathroom.

Ivan was already sitting in bed, talking to someone else on the phone. Alice rolled her eyes and turned off the light. "Alice, I need to see." He said in an annoyed tone. "Whoops."He turned on the lamp near the bed and continued talking. Alice stretched and yawned loudly "I sure hope we aren't late for that plane, Ivan! You might not make it to work in time and the whole world will end because of your lateness!" He groaned and turned back to his phone "I'll call you back, Yao." He turned off the phone and set on the bedside table in the room. Alice took off her glasses and handed them to Ivan, who put them on the same table.

She sat down on the bed next to him. He looked at her awkwardly "…Goodnight." She smiled "Goodnight!" He turned off the light and lay down. Alice lay down as well.

"Alice."

"Hm?"

"I am sorry that I was being rude to you today. It is not your fault that a lot of things are happening to me. Even if you are childish and immature, I should not say things like that."

"It's alright. I'm pretty childish anyway, I'm sorry for comparing you to an old guy."

"It is fine."

"But you gotta admit you were acting like a party pooper."

"I guess I would be classified as that, yes. But I would not use those words, more like 'mature' or 'adult'."

"Yeah, but I mean, it's not like you don't want to be fun. Maybe it's just physically impossible for you to be fun."

"I can be fun."

"Really? Last time I checked you were 'Mr. talk-on-your-phone-doing-boring-business-stuff-guy'"

"We were having fun when we were in the water."

"That doesn't count, my fun-osity rubbed off on you and made you fun…I'm pretty sure there's a mathematical equation for that or something."

"It isn't. I am guessing that you are thinking of the transitive property, but even then you are still wrong."

"Whatever! Math is stupid! And you are not fun!"

"Math is important for daily life. I can be fun when I want to be."

"Math is the devil. Point is, you're not fun."

"I seemed like I was fun when you were kissing me."

"…..S-shut up. Didn't I t-tell you to never speak of that ever? And you kissed me first!"

"I did, but you kissed me back."

"I hate you sometimes."

"You do not mean that."

"Fuck you."

"No thank you."

"Ugh! Shut up with your fucking comebacks."

"This is almost too easy."

"What is, you jerk?"

"Making you angry."

"I hate you, really I do."

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?!"

"You are."

"I wasn't trying to be dumbass."

"That is why you are funny. Or at the very least, it is funny to argue with you."

" I really fucking hate you."

"That is why you kissed me right?"

"NEVER SPEAK OF IT!"

He smirked in the dark and Alice blushed furiously.

^ J ^

"I did not realize we would have been gone for so long." Ivan said to Alice as they walked through the airport, back in New York. "We missed Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving, that's like the fourth best holiday, behind Christmas, my birthday, New Year's…"

"Your birthday is not a holiday."

"It should be. The point is, we missed the fourth best holiday!" She threw her hands up in frustration.

"You just wanted to stuff your face." Alice shrugged "Maybe I did! But that doesn't matter because it's over!" Ivan sighed "You do realize that Christmas is next, right?" Her eyes widened "Holy shit! You're right!" she started grinning and jumping up and down "CHRISTMAS!"

Ivan walked away from her quickly to pick up their baggage (and get away from her Christmas fangirling) while Alice went outside and tried to signal a cab.

Ivan took out his phone and called Katyusha. "Hello?"

"Hey Katyusha, we are back from the honeymoon."

"Oh great! How are you two?"

Ivan looked outside and saw Alice flip the driver of a cab off as he passed by her. He sighed "We are fine. How are you?"

"Much better actually, I left the hospital. They say I am stable now so I will be home for Christmas."

"Katyusha that is wonderful! You have to stay with me for Christmas!"

"No, Ivan, you have your own wife to stay with. I will be fine alone."

"What? No, I will not let you. I have not been home with you for Christmas for years. Alice loves you anyway, she does not care."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Thank you! Oh Vanya I am so excited to be home for the holidays!"

Ivan saw Alice wave at him. She pointed to the cab that was pulled over.

"Alice got us a cab, I will be home soon."

"Alright, Goodbye then! Love you!"

"I Love you too."

He walked outside to where Alice was standing. She was shivering in the cold. "I forgot how cold it was!" she exclaimed. Ivan patted her back, "I told you to wear a coat." Alice frowned "I forgot that it would be this cold! And-ow!" she exclaimed as he patted her arm "I have a sunburn!"

Ivan got into the cab and pulled her in as well. He told the driver the address and he started to drive. "I told you to wear sunscreen." She rubbed her sore arms "I didn't want to! I was too busy being _fun!" _He raised his eyebrows at her "Do you really want to start this again?"

She frowned "I don't know, are you gonna use your freaky Russian powers to make me sound like an idiot?"

Ivan giggled "Silly Alice, I do not need powers to do that!"

She flipped him off."I hate you."

"No you do not."

"Yes I do."

"No you do not."

"Yes I do, you're just doing this to piss me off."

"No, how did you get _that _idea?"

"See _this_ right here is why I hate you!"

"That is not what you said a week ago."

"NEVER SPEAK OF IT!"

Sorry for how I ended this…I could not think of any other way. :/ Hope you like the character I put in Cheyenne, since you asked to be put in. I hope you like their banter, because that will be a reoccurring thing they got going on… so yeah! RANDOM SIDE NOTE: On a side note: me and my friend can't stop singing pervy songs. Ever hear of: shut up and sleep with me, bad touch, or uhn tiss uhn tiss uhn tiss? That is my personal awesome playlist. XD

Thanks for reading! :D


	18. Christmas With the Braginskis Part 1

Look guys, I know I said I would have updated on Christmas and I really wanted to, trust me, but family came over and there was a lot going on as well, with the holidays and all. Also this chapter has been bugging me to no end, whenever I sat down and tried to write, it just would not come out good. I could not write it, and I tried every day to write it again. I ended up deleting it at least five times. It was originally somewhere around 15,000 words, and because I got so frustrated, I cut back to 10,000.

I hate saying that I'll do something and not go through with it, so I am sorry for not updating. And a lot of you guys have said that you couldn't see my tumblr when I posted it. I'm sorry, I forget that Fanfic is a bit of an ass when it comes to these type of things, so here it is: theredcoon. You all can see how creative I am with names. XD

So yeah, sorry about all of that. I will try to be as consistent as I was before, which will be easy since my chapters will not be as long. And also sorry that this chapter is after Christmas. But hey, at least it's still holiday-ish? *hopeful smile*

I'm going to have to cut this chapter in half, so you guys will be getting to long chapters instead of one huge chapter. And I will try to have it done by Saturday *fingers crossed* if not, then it will be definitely done by Sunday. If not, spam me with angry PM's. XD

Also! I am doing a really insane (amazing) RP with my friend Cheyenne. I don't know if you could even call it an RP since we aren't even characters, but oh well. And also I am buying an America cosplay! (What a great use of me and my sister's combined Christmas moolah) I am super excited and really pumped over this!

I am going to buy the cosplay itself soon; I just need a wig and blue contacts. But I can get both of these in China town, so that's not a problem.

(THE LAST UPDATE WAS NOT A CHAPTER, I DON'T CARE WHAT FANFIC SAYS )

ANYWAYS: CHAPTER 18.5

"Christmas is coming!" Alice cheered excitedly. She fidgeted in her seat, jumping up and down and occasionally throwing her hands up in the air as if she was riding a rollercoaster. Ivan looked up from his book and glared at her.

"Alice I know, this is the one hundredth time you have said that."

"I know, I know, but it's going to be friggin Christmas in like a week! I'm so excited!"

"It will be Christmas in nine days. Now go be excited somewhere else, I am reading."

Alice rolled her eyes "Scrooge." She muttered under her breath.

Ivan sighed and snapped his book shut. He could tell that she was not about to let up on "the Christmas spirit" so he decided to finish his reading later.

"While we are on the subject of Christmas, I should tell you that my sister will be coming to stay over for the holidays."

Alice grinned "Really? That is so awesome! It'll be like one of those family Christmases on TV!"

Ivan frowned "Right…You are alright with this?"

Alice looked at him as if he was insane "Why wouldn't I be? I love Katy, she's so nice! And besides Christmas is better when you spend it with other people, at least that's what cheesy Christmas movies have taught me. Oh, and also there is always supposed to be mistletoe and someone kisses someone else all shy-like, there is always a drunken uncle, lots of cookies, and you are supposed to wait for Santa to come, and then you give cheesy homemade presents! "

Ivan could not help but smile slightly. She was really childlike when it came to, well everything, but did she really think that was what happened at Christmas? "Is that what you really think Christmas is about?"

Alice rolled her eyes and looked at him as if the answer was the most obvious in the world"Well duh, of course that's what it's about, honestly, Ivan have you not ever celebrated Christmas?!"

Ivan shrugged and smiled "Fine, fine that is what it is about."

"We may have to go shopping, for presents and food. Francis will probably come over, even if he isn't invited, so that will mean Arthur will come and if Arthur comes, then Feliks will, and if he comes, everyone will…" He mumbled to himself.

Alice looked at Ivan excitedly "Just like the movies!"

^ J ^

(IVAN'S POV)

Ivan walked into his office and shuffled through a stack of papers on his desk, probably put there by Yao. They didn't say much, just about payments, money people owed him, and a few other things. Ivan pushed the papers away; none of them interested him much. What he really needed to do was to finally settle this ongoing war with the Axis…

It had not been going well. Ever since his father, Borislav came to be the leader of the Allies so very long ago, the Axis was always a threat. Ivan remembered this vaguely. They had come to America with Ivan's uncle after his mother died from tuberculosis.

Borislav had worked at a few jobs, with no money coming in, he was forced to work with his younger brother. Borislav had not known that his brother worked for the Axis gang, and when he found out, he was shocked.

After he saw the money he could make, he decided to stay, but he never thought that he would have become the underboss. After years of working for the gang and proving his worth, the gang lord took notice of him. The two became friends and eventually they worked together, with Borislav working as his underboss.

When the boss was shot in an ambush by another gang member from an opposing gang, there was a vote held to find the new boss. It was obvious that Borislav would become the new boss, and he did. He was a great leader, after working in the gang so long, how could he not be. He scared all the lesser gangs so that no one would ever think of fighting him.

Another gang, though, was not afraid of the Allies. This was the then, their leader was a very stern-looking, tall, blonde man named Alfher with ice cold eyes that looked through you who could break your neck as easily as a toothpick.

But back then, the two gangs, though they were never really at ease with each other, were more civil. Both men knew that sooner or later they would have a gang war, unfortunately they were right. This long time war started when Alfher started to take over areas, and was coming closer and closer to Borislav's territory.

Tension rose and the two gang bosses knew a war would be coming any day. Before either could make a move, Alfher died in a small gang fight between the Axis and another, less powerful gang. His underboss, a more intellectual and less brutal man took over, and the fears of a gang war diminished.

The "peace" between the gangs did not last long, however. Borislav died from a heart attack and Ivan was forced to come in as the new leader. Around the same time, Alfher's two sons killed the new boss of the Axis and took over.

Ludwig, the younger son, took over as the boss while the older son, Gilbert became the underboss. They became a fearsome duo, committing crime after crime, killing all who opposed them, and making the Allies on edge.

That is when Natalia came to help. She became Ivan's underboss, and though she was originally supposed to lead the Allies, Natalia was fine with helping Ivan in any way she could.

While Ivan had no idea how to lead, Natalia knew what she was doing and they quickly became a force to reckon with. With both siblings as leaders as their own gangs, things became more heated, especially with Gilbert and Natalia instigating the other's bosses. Ludwig started his plan of taking over territory, coming too close to Ivan's territory.

Everyone could feel a gang war coming on, and all were prepared. An all out war took place, with many dying, switching sides, and betraying each other.

In the end, the Allies came out victorious, but this left Ludwig bitter and wanting revenge. He planned his next move, which would be a rematch of sorts, to find out who was strongest once and for all.

Before anyone could make a move though, Natalia died and shortly after, Katyusha fell ill. This would have been a perfect time for Ludwig to strike, but, fortunately for Ivan, Gilbert got into trouble with the law.

He was being questioned for a murder that he committed, and though they did not have enough evidence to convict him, it scared Ludwig enough that he had a bit of a falling out with his brother.

This period from when Katyusha fell ill to when Ivan married Alice, was the calm before the storm. Now that both gangs were done with their own issues, they could focus on the fight they had been instigating for quite a while. Ludwig and Gilbert made up; they were back as intimidating as ever. But with Yao as his underboss, Ivan felt a little unsure.

Yao was a good friend of his, he was loyal and smart man with a good heart, but he was not like Natalia. While Natalia was fearsome and ruthless, Yao was more inclined to think of ways around fighting. This was fine when there were no other gangs wanting to fight but this was not what Ivan needed now. Ivan needed someone who would fight with him, be at his side no matter what, someone he could trust with his life…he wanted his sister back….

Ivan rested his head in his hand and thought of what he should do next. He wished more than anything for Natalia to be back with him. He wanted Katyusha to become better, for Natalia to be back, and for them to be a family once more.

If Christmas wishes came true, Ivan's would have been granted for sure. But real life was not like the cute Christmas movies, when bad things happened a wish could not fix them, you just had to go on, no matter how hard you were hurt, no matter how much you wanted to stop, to cry, to die, you had to go on. Ivan was used to this, but it never became easier, the pain never went away.

He instinctively touched the scar on his face. He was pretty self conscious about it. It was like the pain he had to deal with in life: the pain hurt very much at first and over time the wounds had healed, but a scar would be there in its place, always a reminder of what had happened. It was a reminder right on his face that showed he was venerable. It showed that he had his fair share of pain just like anyone and told all that despite all of the things that had happened, he was till human and he still had feelings.

He hated it.

Sometimes, Ivan wished he had never become the leader of the Allies, if he hadn't Natalia might have lived. No matter how hard he tried, he could never forgive himself for her death. It would be his fault, no matter how hard Katyusha tried to convince him otherwise, just like his mother's death. Both would be his fault, and the pain would never go away.

When he was younger, he used to think of himself as bad luck. It seemed that whatever he did, he would always end up failing or hurting himself or others. When this happened, Ivan would usually cry and his mother would reassure him that he was special and precious. He wanted to believe her, so he tried his best for her. When he went to school, he tried to get the best grades, when he did any work, he tried to the most, and when got sick he tried his best to get better to help his mother at home. He did get better when he was sick, but his mother could not. Because of him, she died. It was all his fault and it always would be, just as his father said.

"Ivan, are you alright?" Yao asked, concerned about his friend's well-being.

Ivan was startled; he had not even heard Yao come in. He fixed the stack of papers on his desk and nodded "How long have you been standing there Yao? Go home, everyone else is gone already."

"What's wrong, you are not usually this quiet." Yao said, evading the question.

Ivan waved him off "It was nothing, I was just thinking about my next move concerning the Axis." Yao nodded gravely "They are becoming a threat again."

"A threat is an understatement Yao, they are urging us on. Gilbert has said it himself; Ludwig is planning his first move. We have to be prepared."

Yao ran his fingers through his hair "It's hard to be prepared when we are being targeted by other smaller gangs. They have become more of a nuisance every day. They have hurt some our men, and have been becoming too comfortable. What do you think we should do?"

Ivan frowned "We give them a reminder, a reminder that they should never mess with the Allies. Send Arthur and Francis on them, if they cannot stop these 'gangs' then we will take further measures."

Yao nodded. "I will tell them right away…" he looked at Ivan sympathetically "You should rest or something, Ivan. You don't look too good."

Ivan nodded "I know, I know." It seemed that everyone was telling him this these days…

Yao looked at Ivan with but then shrugged and left.

Ivan put his head in his hands and sighed. Too much was happening too close together and it was starting to get to him.

He did not feel good today, maybe he should call his usual escort….He hadn't seen her in a while actually and he needed something to get his mind off all of his problems. He didn't think she would mind, she was paid anyway. Ivan mulled over this for a while and then picked up the phone. Both he and Alice knew that the marriage was a fake one. Technically it was cheating, but truthfully Ivan did not care. He dialed the number he knew by heart and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?" the familiar voice asked on the other line.

Ivan opened his mouth to respond, but closed it quickly. This didn't feel right. He didn't feel right doing this… Having a quick fuck would not help him, he knew that from experience. Plus, his problems were more deeply rooted than before. Sure it was fine to call up an escort every now and then when you felt like it, but this time, he ahd too much to deal with. Even _she_ would not take his mind off of things.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Must've butt dialed me I guess…" the voice trailed off and finally hung up. Ivan sat with the phone in his hands and his feet on his desk for a while, just thinking about numerous things. When he checked his phone for the time he saw three missed calls from Francis. He decided to call him back.

"Hello?" Francis asked.

"Why did you call me?"

"Whatever happened to hello?" Francis asked jokingly.

"Why did you call me?"

"I wanted to tell you that Arthur and I took care of those gangs like you wanted us to."

"Really? That was quicker than I expected." Ivan said in disbelief

"Yeah, we didn't mean to do it today, since Yao only told us like an hour ago, but unluckily for them we ran into them. You should have seen Arthur! He broke one of their hands and broke another guy's nose."

Ivan heard Arthur in the background laugh and say "They deserved it."

"Good. I am surprised that you two actually got something done for once."

"Hey! I can do things when I want to."

"Fine. Goodbye then-"

"Oh! I almost forgot to mention this: You know who I saw when I was walking home?"

"Just tell me, I have to go home."

"You're not home? No wonder Alice was waiting for you." Francis said, with a slight tone of anger to his voice

"Wait. What time is it?"

"Almost ten I think. Don't be like that with her, Ivan. She is a sweet girl, and she should not be kept waiting like that." Francis said, anger rising a little in his voice.

"дерьмо…Goodbye-" he mumbled under his breath. He got up, picked up his suit jacket from the floor and threw on his coat hanging from the chair he was sitting in.

"Wait, I never got to finish what I was saying! I saw Charlotte! It's been a while since I saw her. I just wanted to tell you since you haven't seen her in a while. We didn't get to talk much; she said she had a client. But she told me to tell you hello."

"Right…Goodbye then." He hung up and started walking out of his office. He gave the stack of papers on his desk one last tired glance before heading out to his car.

^ J ^

(ALICE'S POV)

Alice was lying on the couch in the living room, upside down, with her blonde hair brushing the floor and her legs hanging over the top of the couch. She was flicking through the channels on the TV. It seemed that this was all she ever did, and it was getting her bored…

It was kind of late for Ivan to not be home, and with him as her only other source of entertainment, she was left with the TV. "Why is there never anything good on?!" Alice groaned to no one in particular. She dropped the remote on the floor. "Fuck my life…" she mumbled under her breath.

While trying to reach for the remote without actually moving, the phone rang. "Oh come on. I don't want to move!" Alice yelled to know one in particular. Alice looked at the phone and tried to push the phone towards her with her foot. She ended up kicking it, which resulted in the still ringing phone hitting her in the face. "Mother fuck!" Alice yelled as she reached for the phone.

"HELLO?!" she yelled into the phone, while rubbing her head that she was sure was black and blue.

"Oh. Hello Alice!" the voice on the other line said, somewhat scared.

"Hi…buddy…" Alice was sure she knew who it was; she just couldn't place the face with the name.

"It's me. You know, Toris?"

"Right! Toris! I knew who you were, I was just kidding!" Alice laughed awkwardly.

"It's fine that you forgot who I was Alice," Toris said sadly "Anyway, is Ivan there, he won't pick up his cell phone…"

"Pssh, please I was just kidding…Oh, No he's not, sorry."

"Oh, well sorry for calling."

"Don't be dude, it's fine! Bye!"

Alice put the phone back on the floor and started watching TV again. "Oh hell yes!" she said when she saw that on Disney Channel they were playing Gravity Fall. She was laughing while Dipper sang Disco Girl with the multibear when the phone rang again. "For real?!" Alice said, annoyed that she was missing her show.

"Hello?" Alice asked, still annoyed.

"Hey Alice!" a familiar voice said on the other end.

"Francis! What's up?" Alice said happily, forgetting about the show

"Nothing. I was just calling to see if Ivan was there, I tried calling him, but he didn't pick up."

"Oh," Alice said, a little disappointed that Francis was not calling for her. "He's not here."

"What the hell?" Francis, said a bit annoyed.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault that Ivan is an idiot…"

Alice laughed. "He's not that bad."

"You think so?" Francis asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah he's cool sometimes. Most of the time, he's pretty cold though."

"Yeah, that's kind of his thing." Francis said knowingly. "So what are you up to?"

"Nothing…watching TV. There's nothing else to do and Ivan's not here so I can't really talk to anyone."

"I'm here too, thank you for noticing." Francis replied, pretending to be offended.

Alice laughed "I know. You know what I mean."

"Yeah I get it; Ivan is different from me, obviously."

"No, well I mean yeah, but you're my friend, Ivan is…"

"Your husband?"

"I guess. Ugh, but don't use that word, it makes me feel old."

"You're 18 Alice, how can you feel old?"

"I don't know! Old people get married. I'm young, I'm supposed to be partying or hanging with my friends and stuff. I'm not supposed to be…"

"Married." Francis finished for her.

"Yeah, but you make it sound like I'm a jerk for saying that! I mean, Ivan pays for everything I have, lets me live with him, and he's helping me find my brother. And I'm thankful as hell, don't get me wrong but…I don't know."

"I understand."

"You've been married to a man you just met?" Alice said with a laugh.

"Well, no, thank God. But I know what you're trying to say. You feel like you are too young for a lot of the things that happened recently. And I agree, partly. You are young to be married, but there are also circumstances that go into account. It wasn't like you eloped out of nowhere; you had a reason to get married. And it wasn't a selfish one either."

"Thanks, dude." Alice said with a smile. "I don't mind it, actually. It's just weird to call him my husband… I mean I like him. Actually I like him a lot. But it's just weird."

"Wait. What do you mean by that?"

"Huh?"  
"You said you liked him a lot."

"Did I?" _Damn it Alice; learn to shut up for once._ "Yeah, of course I do," she said, trying to make up for her slip-up " I mean he's not a horrible person, And I didn't mean that I _liked _him. I like him. Like a friend."

"Are you sure about that?" Francis said doubtfully.

"Of course I am."

"I've seen how you look at him, Alice. Ivan may not have, but I have noticed."

"Oh." said Alice slowly. _He hasn't noticed?_ She felt a little relieved but a little disappointed at the same time. "Well you have it all wrong."

"How do you actually feel about him?"

"I don't like him like that. And where is this coming from anyway?" Alice said suspiciously

"It's just, the little things I noticed. You know, how you'd look at him, and blush a little when he saw you and try to cover it up. How you'd look forward to seeing him and how you'd smile brighter when he came. It's actually very cute."

"Shut up Francis. I don't like him in that way."

"Are you sure? You look like a little teenage girl in love."

"Fuck you. You know, you're only three years older than me!"

"Haha, true. But you do have feelings for him. There's no point in telling me you don't because I can tell."

"Well then stop asking me if you know already!"

"I knew it."

"Hey I never revealed anything!"

Francis laughed hesitated. "So you have something to hide?"

Alice facepalmed. "Stop twisting my words around!"

She had crushes before, but not like this. She was never actually married to one of her crushes. It made things better for her, since she was around him a lot. But it was bad at the same time, because if your crush was your husband and he didn't share your feelings, you'd be stuck with him.

She did not want him to know. Best case scenario, he felt the same way. Worst case scenario, he didn't and she'd have to be stuck in an awkward relationship for life. The losses definitely outweighed the winnings and Alice was not about to risk it, which meant that she wouldn't even tell Francis.

Francis laughed again. "Don't worry chérie, your secret is safe with me."

"Whatever Francis…." She sighed for a moment and tried thinking of a topic to steer away from her love life (or lack there-of). "You know, it's nice to hear French again." She said with a small smile.

"Why don't you speak it anymore? I remember that you used to talk to me only in French." Francis replied with a small, reminiscent smile.

"That's because you didn't know any English. It was up to me to help you! You owe me, big time. And, a lot of reasons."

"It wasn't my fault that I had to come to America so quickly…"Francis didn't ask about why she didn't speak French anymore, telling that she didn't want to talk too much about it. Thankfully for him, Alice knew not to talk about why he had to come to America. "I could re-teach you if you like."

"Really?" Alice asked happily "Dude that would be awesome! It's been years since I last talked to anyone in French. And I only remember some words and insults."

"Of course you'd remember the insults." Francis said, shaking his head.

"Hey come on, you know curses are essential to daily life." She was about to continue when she heard a key turn in the front door. "Gotta go, pretty sure that that's Ivan."

"Alice-"

"Bye Francis!" she said quickly, hanging up the phone. The front door opened and she heard him come in through the foyer. Alice tried getting up, but ended up getting dizzy. She swayed back and forth and rubbed her head which now felt very foggy and she felt faint. "Fuck" Alice said out loud, reaching out and trying to grab something to steady herself.

Ivan walked into the room as Alice fell down. She tried to stop herself from falling by putting her hands out. This resulted in her face being venerable. And this resulted in a total faceplant. He rushed over to her and sat down on the floor next to her. "Alice? Alice are you alright?" he said, a bit worried. "I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy." She answered without picking her head up from the floor. "That was smooth." She thought out loud. Ivan laughed and nodded. "What were you doing?"

He got up and gave her his hand. She took it and he pulled her up "I was just laying upside down." Ivan felt like face-palming but he was already used to her antics, so he restrained himself. "Alice, you know that that is what happens, right?" Alice rubbed her head "Well now I do! Gravity is not my friend."

Ivan breathed in slowly and rubbed his temples with his fingers. He smiled, because what else could you do but smile when Alice said things like that. It wasn't like she was trying; she was just naturally dizzy, even without being upside down. He laughed a little and patted her head fondly. Alice jumped when she felt him hold her. Ivan noticed and let go of her, opting to sit on the couch by himself.

"What's up with you?" she asked slowly "You don't look too good, Ivan." He shrugged and Alice sat next to him. "Maybe you should sleep or something." She continued, looking at his face. He looked pretty tired and not at all like the usual, smiling Ivan. His smile was still there, as it always was, but it seemed more forced and very tired.

Alice walked over to him and sat on the couch near him. She stared at him intently, trying to see what was wrong. He noticed her and looked back at her with an eyebrow raised questioningly. "Yes?" he asked. Alice shrugged. Ivan looked at her suspiciously and turned back to watching whatever they were selling in the commercial. Alice looked at him again and frowned. Ivan caught her looking at him from the corner of his eye. He sighed. "What, Alice?"

Alice shrugged and sat closer to him. Ivan stared at her but didn't say anything. She wriggled closer to him before giving him a quick hug and retreating back to her place on the couch, far away from him.

Ivan looked at her with a confused expression. "What was that for?" Alice shrugged again. "You looked like you needed a hug." He stared at her for a moment and then smiled warmly, what else could you do when Alice did things like that? He scooted closer to her on the couch and hugged her back. "Thank you."

Alice's eyes widened, before they softened and crinkled at the edges as her face made one of her famous grins. She hugged him back "You're welcome, dude." She gave him a quick squeeze and he smiled back as he patted her on the back. He let go of her and Alice felt a little disappointed.

Ivan noticed this and rubbed his chin, trying to figure out why she looked at him like that. Suddenly his face brightened as an idea came into his head. He moved closer to her slowly and put his arm around her. Alice jumped a little when he did this and looked at him; to be sure the gesture was not accidental. He looked back at her and smiled sweetly. Alice shrugged and smiled softly, settling down to rest her head on his chest. "You're pretty comfortable." She said out loud, with a bit of laugh.

"Thank you." He said with a confused smile. "That was stupid." She said, more to herself than to him. Ivan chuckled. "No. It was something only you would say." "Well I'm just telling the truth." Alice looked at him and bit chewed on her lip, trying to find the right words to say. "What is it?" Ivan asked. "It's just…" she thought a moment "Ugh…I've never really been good with words."

Ivan laughed "That is truly ironic considering you are talking most of the time." She laughed and punched him in the arm gently. "Yeah well whatever. Forget it." Ivan grinned "No. Tell me, it is funny watching you try." Alice stuck her tongue at him "Yeah funny for you."

"I'm just trying to say," She continued "that you should take care of yourself. People care about you and you should really stop stressing yourself about about whatever it is that's happening. I don't mean to get into your business or anything, but…you know, chill." Ivan shrugged "I'm fine Alice."

Alice put her hands up in a defensive manner and shrugged "Fine. I don't want your sister to worry about you too much." Ivan nodded"Fine. I will."Alice smiled and settled down comfortably next to him. "Cool." Ivan ruffled her hair affectionately and smiled."Cool." He said back. She could really fall asleep here if she wanted to. Just with the both of them sitting like this. She wouldn't mind.

And that was exactly what happened.

^ J ^

Ivan woke up first the next day as the light coming in through the windows became too much for him to bear. He covered his eyes and got up. He was surprised to see that he was back in his bed and that there was a blanket wrapped around him. He frowned and got up. He remembered falling asleep on the couch with Alice, but he did not remember getting up to go to his room.

He walked into the living room and saw Alice sprawled across the couch, with her mouth wide open as she snored. "Beautiful." He said sarcastically. He shook his head at her and walked into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He opened a jug of milk since he was too lazy to cook today. He poured milk into the bowl and looked inside the cabinets for his usual cereal.

There was a box of Lucky Charms left. He smiled and opened the box, pouring it out over the milk in the bowl. He frowned when nothing came out and looked into the box. There was nothing left but crumbs. Ivan glared at the still sleeping figure of Alice and threw the box of lucky charms out. He looked in the cabinets again and pulled out a box of Cheerios instead and furrowed his eyebrows in anger. He fished a spoon out of the draw and started eating his cereal, not bothering to sit down because he was too busy studying her. _How do you even get into a position like that?_

Alice was lying down on her back with one arm behind her head, twisted in what looked like a painful pose. Her other arm was lying across her chest while one leg was up in the air and the other was bent and twisted under her. Also, she was upside down._ Of course she's upside down._

Ivan tilted his head and tried to figure out how someone was capable of falling asleep in that way. He was flexible, sure but he was pretty sure that your arm was not supposed to be twisted in that angle. He walked over to her and stared at her with his head tilted. She snored loudly and mumbled something about burgers.

Ivan nudged her with his knee while still eating his Cheerios. She groaned in her sleep and smacked his knee away. Ivan smirked and nudged her again. She mumbled something else and tried rolling over which ended horribly.

Since she was upside down, there was nowhere else to move. She ended up falling, with her head taking most of the fall straight on. The rest if her body flipped over, with one of her legs hitting the coffee table in the process. Ivan just watched as her eyes shot open and she screamed in pain. "HOLY FUCK WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" She moaned in pain and rubbed her head softly, grimacing as she touched that spot that took on most of the fall.

Ivan ate another spoonful of cereal and stared at her. "You fell."

Alice shot daggers at him with her eyes, giving him the angriest look she could muster as she flipped him off. She grabbed the end of the coffee table and pushed herself up. "Why the fuck did you do that?!" she yelled.

Ivan ate another spoonful of cereal. "You ate all the lucky charms."

^ J ^

Alice sat at the breakfast table the next day and groaned as Ivan slid a bowl of cereal over to her. "You seem very happy this morning." he said sarcastically. Alice grumbled and gave him the finger "Mornings are the work of Satan." She shoved a spoonful of the charm-less lucky charms into her mouth and glared at him "Plus you fucking made me fall on my face!"

Ivan rolled his eyes. "I did not push you. You fell on your own."

"What the fuck, dude?! You nudged me!"

"And you fell. By yourself."

"Let me get this straight! You woke me up; made me do a total fucking 360, fall on my face, do a body slam, and knock my leg onto a table because I ate the lucky charms."

"Da."

"Oh my fucking God…" she smacked her head on the table and groaned. "Ivan. Ivan what the fuck is wrong with you?"

He just laughed in response and changed the subject. "Katyusha is coming today. I thought we should fix the apartment up, make it look more festive." Alice didn't answer; her mouth was too full of her cheerios. "I am guessing that you agree. We will go shopping after breakfast."

Alice groaned when she had to get up and dragged her feet through the kitchen as she put the bowl in the sink. "Alice, it's just morning." Alice flipped him off and groaned as she dragged her feet back into the living room. She lay down on the couch and wrapped the blanket around her so that she resembled a cocoon, with only her face showing. She then fell onto the couch and closed her eyes.

Ivan sighed in frustration. "Alice we have to go so we will be able to buy everything."

"I don't wanna!" she answered from inside her cocoon blanket.

"Alice." Ivan said as a warning.

"Hmph!" she replied. "You owe me! I could've gotten a concussion or something!"

Ivan crossed his arms over his chest "You are a drama queen."

"Then all hail the queen!" she said angrily as she turned away from him in her cocoon.

Ivan mumbled curses under his breath and walked over to the cocooned Alice. He grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE FUCK! GET OFF OF ME!" she wriggled around and tried to kick him, but the cocoon was wrapped so tightly that she could not move her legs or arms.

He carried her to her room and set her down on the floor. "Now get dressed."

Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

^ J ^

Alice and Ivan walked to where his car was parked, not too far away. The snow was falling quite heavily, and it was still morning so there was hardly anyone outside. "It feels nice to be outside in the snow." Ivan said happily. Alice frowned and kicked a piece of ice, missed and fell on her butt, hit garbage can, making snow fall on top of her. Ivan laughed "Serves you right for taking so long to get dressed!" Alice glared at him "Har-dee-fucking-har." She got up and gave him a dirty look as she brushed the snow off of her jacket.

"Alice calm down, it is Christmas, you should be happy." He said as he wiped the snow out of her hair, gave her a cheerful smile and kept walking.

Alice walked faster to catch up with him and glared at him "I would be if I wasn't interrupted in my sleep by a fucking face plant on the floor!"

Ivan groaned "You never get over things, do you?"

"Who the fuck even does that?! I mean come on bro! It was lucky charms!"

Ivan looked at her seriously "I have few joys in life, Alice. Lucky charms are one of them. Do not eat my lucky charms."

"You are one fucked up dude."

^ J ^

"Alright, we need to buy presents for Francis, Yao, Arthur, Katyusha of course…."

Alice was not paying attention; she was too busy staring at all the huge selection of presents, ranging from dresses and tee shirts, to jewelry, to board games and toys in the mall.

The whole mall was decked in Christmas decorations, with huge candy canes and fake snow covering the bottom of the columns that held the second storey up. Huge red and green strings of garland were strung in between them and large, sparkly snowflakes hung by clear strings, so they looked as if they were actually falling. Every store was covered in fake snowflakes, garland, and had Christmas themed displays.

In the middle of the mall was a Christmas village, where there was a life-sized ginger bread house, complete with a life-size gingerbread family and a ginger bread door. Another house stood on the other side, this one red, green and white. It had a sign that read "Santa's workshop." Store workers dresses in green with golden bells attached to their hats stood all around, giving out candy canes to children.

In the center of it all was a long pathway, lined with tall candy canes that led to a comfortable-looking seat lined with red velvet. A man dressed as Santa sat on the chair, with plastic reindeer surrounding him, along with a red sack of presents that sat next to him. Even this early, the mall was filled with children and their parents, waiting on the long line to see Santa.

"Wow…" Alice muttered with her face full of wonder. Everything was so pretty and beautifully decorated; it was a nice sight to see.

Ivan frowned and glanced at his watch impatiently. "Alice we need to get this shopping done. If we start now, we will be able to buy the food supplies and get home before Katyusha comes."

Alice reluctantly turned away from the festive view "I know, I know." She turned to Ivan and grinned "That's so crazy, right?" she pointed to the candy cane house. "How do they even do that?"

Ivan looked at her seriously and her smiled faded.

"Fine, what do we need to get?"

"Just a few presents, I already know what I am getting for Katyusha and the rest will be easy. If we get this finished quick enough, we will be able to buy a tree, decorations, and groceries. What do you think Alice?" he frowned when she didn't answer and looked to where she was standing a minute ago. He looked left and right and all around him "Alice? Alice, where did you go?" He could not see her in the crowd of people shopping for the holidays and lining up to see the mall Santa.

He face palmed and started to search for her through the aisles. "How did I know that this would happen?" he grumbled under his breath. "Alice!" he called over the noisiness of the crowd. He walked through people and searched for her familiar dirty blonde head of hair over the crowd of other people, all of whom were pushing and shoving, all trying to get their shopping done in time.

He walked into a small boutique, a Macy's, and an Old Navy, calling her name as he walked around each store. He even went into the food court (he was surprised to not see her there). He must have gone around the whole mall, looking for her. The whole time he kept glancing at his watch, angrily.

"Alice, so help me God, if we are back late, I will kill you." He searched through a Sear's with no luck. He walked out of the store and slumped against the side of the store, wondering about where she could possibly be.

Suddenly he saw a girl with square glasses and blonde hair all the way in front of a shoe store, looking around as well. "Alice!" he called angrily. She did not notice him calling for her. He grumbled curses under his breath and pushed through the crowd. After almost knocking down two men, making a woman drop her gifts, and about fifteen apologies, Ivan made it to Alice.

He stood over the girl with a frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "Alice you cannot just run off!" Alice turned around and stared at him. She was certainly not Alice. Alice did not have brown eyes and she would not look at him like that… "Excuse me?" the girl asked, annoyed. Ivan's eyes widened in embarrassment "Oh, I am sorry; I thought you were someone else…"

Ivan turned around and bumped into Alice (the real Alice this time). She fell on the ground with a thud. "Oh come on! This is like the third time I got hurt already!"

"Where were you?!" Ivan exclaimed angrily. He gave her his hand to help her up, and she grabbed it. Alice waved him off. "Calm down, Ivan! I was just looking at some stuff in the toy store!" Ivan shook his head slowly _Of course she was in the toy store! How did I miss that?! _"Did you know that they have Lego superman in that toy store over there? And a Lego Santa, with a Lego Mrs. Claus! It's so awesome! You have to see it!" she started walking away again, to go back to the toy shop.

Ivan grabbed her arm. "Alice, do not run away like that." Alice rolled her eyes "Calm down. What did you think I'd get lost?"Ivan looked at her in astonishment "Of course I did! This mall is huge!"

She smiled. "Aw, Ivan you were worried about me!" Ivan let go of her arm and turned away from her. "No I was not. We have a schedule and I want to get back home before Katyusha comes!" Alice tilted her head and grinned. "You were worried! Admit it!" Ivan started walking away, towards the Macy's he had left not too long ago. "Alice come on!" he called. "I do not want to lose you again!"

Alice grinned and raced after him. "So, what are we buying now?" Ivan took his phone out of his pocket and looked at a list he made. "I need to buy a few presents. Just, stay close alright?" Alice rolled her eyes "Fine."

They walked into the Macy's and Ivan instantly walked towards the women's section, to buy something for Katyusha. Alice lagged behind, looking at tee shirts, smelling perfume samples, and chatting with a friendly saleswoman. Ivan had to keep walking back to where she was to grab her and lead her to where they were going.

Finally they both made it into the women's section. Ivan went looking for a particular cashmere sweater that he remembered Katyusha saying she wanted a while ago. Alice, meanwhile walked around the women's section, since Ivan did not want to lose her again. She walked into the female intimates section and grinned at all the fuzzy pajamas. She especially liked a red set of fuzzy pajamas that had the Captain America symbol on them.

She walked around that section until she reached the less comfortable and more 'intimate' part of the section. She laughed at a set of lingerie that was red and had furry white material on the end of the see through nightie. Alice grabbed it.

She was trying to walk back to Ivan when she saw an empty cart in the middle of the maternity section. Alice grinned and took the cart as well, putting her find in it and pushing the cart over to Ivan.

He was looking a light blue sweater and checking the size when Alice raced down the aisle with the cart, pushing it faster and faster until she stood on the back of it. She whizzed past Ivan and grinned. "Hey Ivan!" she called as she rolled past him. She rolled past him in the opposite way "Hey Ivan!"

She pushed the cart again and rolled past him once more. "Hey Ivan!" He looked up from the sweater he was holding and stared at her. She was wearing the lingerie over her clothes as she whizzed past him again on the cart. "Hey Ivan! I'm sexy Santa!"

He stared at her. _She is insane. _She rolled past him again "Hey Ivan, have you been naughty this year?!" she yelled. She winked and pouted seductively, but kept laughing at herself. His face flushed as other shoppers started staring at the both of them. She grinned at him and started cracking up as he stared at her. She pushed the cart over to him and grinned at his expression. She started laughing again. "Oh my God dude, you should see your face!"

"Alice what are you doing?" he said as he rubbed his forehead. "What?" she said, raising an eyebrow and pouting. She put her hand on her waist, flipped her hair over her shoulder and winked at him. "You don't like sexy Santa?" Ivan rubbed his face. "Oh my God Alice put that back." She grinned and laughed again. "I want this for Christmas Ivan!" His mouth hung open and his face was pure confusion mixed with a little shock and amusement. He started giggling, then chuckling at her.

Alice laughed along with him and did another set of poses. "Better watch out, Ivan," she said alluringly"sexy Santa is coming to town." Ivan laughed harder. "Alice!" he exclaimed in between sharp intakes of breath "put that back!" She laughed along "No way man, your face is just too hilarious to pass up on!" Alice raised an eyebrow and gave him the best flirty face she could muster "I could jingle your bells if you know what I mean."

That was when Ivan lost it. He doubled over from laughing and held on to her to stop himself from falling. "Oh my God Alice..." he said in between laughs. She laughed along . Even more people stared as they both laughed. Ivan's whole face was red from laughing and Alice couldn't breathe anymore.

A menacing looking salesman who must've been almost as tall as Ivan and twice as fat walked over to them. "Is there a problem?" Ivan asked, challenging him to say something. "Ma'am" he said in a gruff voice with a frown on his face "you'll have to put that back now or get out of the store." Alice couldn't answer because she was still laughing. Ivan frowned back. "She is not doing anything wrong." Alice's laughs turned into short breaths "Ivan," she said with a hiccup "it's o-okay."

The man glared at the both of them. Ivan smiled at him and Alice tried to catch her breath. "Is that all?" Ivan asked sweetly. The man glared at him and pointed to the entrance. "Get out."

Alice took off the nightie and hung it back on a rack near her. "So, Ivan, what do you think? Is sexy santa a no go?" he just grinned "Oh my God Alice." Was all he said because truthfully, what else could you say when she did things like this? He ruffled her hair affectionately as they walked out of the store.

^ J ^

Ivan carried most of the presents and decorations they bought since Alice kept running away like an excited puppy and looking at other stores, outside of the mall. Ivan struggled to pick up a particularly heavy bag that he dropped when Alice ran up to him and almost knocked him over in excitement. "Ivan! Ivan! Ivan!"

"What?!" he asked angrily as he dropped two of the bags he was carrying. Alice kept patting his shoulder excitedly. "Ivan! Ivan! Look! It's a tree! It's perfect!" Ivan looked over to where she was pointing.

Across the street was a man selling Christmas trees. He looked at the tree she was pointing to. It was huge, probably nine feet and it easily dwarfed all the other trees surrounding it. Ivan wasn't sure if that could even fit into their front door, let alone the apartment.

"That one?" Ivan said, pointing to the tree. Alice nodded excitedly "Yeah, isn't it beautiful?" she said dreamily. Ivan shrugged. "I do not think we will be able to get it into the apartment." Alice pouted "But it's so awesome!" Ivan shrugged and kept walking

"We should find a smaller one that will actually fit in the apartment." Alice frowned "But it can! The stairs will give you enough room to carry it!"

Ivan walked over to where he parked the car and tried reaching for his keys. Alice rolled her eyes and dug into his pocket, taking out his keys a moment later and opening the car. "I am not going to carry that tree all the way up the stairs, Alice. We live in the penthouse!" Alice frowned and put her hands on her hips "Now you're just lying! Have you seen yourself; you could lift a friggin truck if you wanted to!"

Ivan blushed a little at the compliment "So now you are checking me out?" he asked with a laugh. Alice glared at him "It's not like that, dumbass! I mean I haven't really seen you without any clothes on, but I mean, you look strong…I mean I don't want to see you without any clothes on! I am just observing that you are pretty strong looking, and tall, and probably pretty muscular…" She shut up when she saw his face blush. "I'll shut up now." Ivan laughed and blushed a little more, his nose turning pink along with his cheeks.

"Thank you, Alice. But I don't think I could fit it into the apartment…"

Alice sighed and looked down at the ground. She shoved her hands into her pockets and kicked a piece of ice with her foot. "I get it." She said, disappointed at not getting the tree of her dreams.

Ivan sighed and rubbed his face. "Alright, fine. We will check. But that is all we will do, alright?"

Alice's face lit up. "Yeah!" she fist pumped and smiled in victory. Ivan grabbed her hand and walked across the street with her because frankly, after her running away, he did not trust her to walk across a busy street. Alice skipped along the street, making sure to step on every white line that went across the way.

Ivan walked over to the man selling the trees. He looked to be about the same age as Ivan, give or take a year or two. He was smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper as he leaned up against a tree. "Hello!" Alice said and waved. The man puffed on his cigarette and put his newspaper down. "Hello," he replied in the thickest Russian accent Alice had ever heard.

"Do you like any of the trees?" he asked with a sweet smile. Alice nodded eagerly and pointed to the tree she showed Ivan before. "I really like this one!" He walked over to the tree, not taking his eyes away from Alice. "This one?" Alice nodded again.

"Alice, I said we cannot buy that one, remember?" Ivan said giving the man a frown. Alice sighed. "Fine. Then which one do you want?" Ivan walked over to a smaller tree that was very fat. "How about this one?" he asked with a smile. Alice shook her head. "No. It's too fat."

"Alright then," he walked over to another tree that was a little shorter, but skinnier. "This one, then?" Alice shook her head again. "No! That one is too small and skinny." Ivan sighed in frustration and pointed to every other tree that the man had. Alice turned each of them down, giving each and every one of them an excuse as to why they shouldn't but it.

"Alice these are all the trees!" Ivan exclaimed in exasperation. Alice smiled and pointed to the large tree standing near the man selling them. The man smiled at Ivan. "This one, then?" he asked him. Ivan frowned. "No, not that one." Alice's shoulders slumped "Oh come on, Ivan!" she said.

"This one is nice," the man said, pointing to the tree and dropping his cigarette on the ground. He stepped on it and pointed to the tree again "So this one then?"

Alice nodded "Yes! We'll take it!" Ivan pushed Alice out of the way. "How much?" Ivan asked with a frown. "Yeah! We're gonna buy a tree!" she jumped up and down and fist pumped into the air.

"I never said we would buy it." Ivan replied. He turned to the man "How much?"

The man shrugged. "For her," he said, nodding his head in Alice's direction. " only two hundred fifty."

Alice's eyes widened. "Ivan!" she looked at Ivan who was frowning "that's only half of what I though it would cost!" The man grinned at Alice and nodded. "Yes only two hundred fifty. That is nothing."

Ivan scoffed "Two hundred fifty? I could buy the same tree for less!"

"Good luck then," the man said "no one will be selling trees, it is too late."

Alice nodded. "Oh come on Ivan! It is your fault for waiting so long to buy a tree!" Ivan crossed his arms over his chest. "Alice I told you no already."

Alice pouted and looked at him, with the largest bluest puppy dog eyes Ivan had ever seen. "Please?" she asked in the sweetest voice he had ever heard.

"Alice, no."

"Pleases, please, please, please, please, please…" she repeated over and over, eventually running out of breath and having to stop. Ivan shook his head. Alice sighed. "Fine, then you forced me to do this." Ivan looked at her questioningly.

She hugged him and looked at him again, pouting even harder. He looked away from her. _Ivan stay strong. Just do not look her in the eyes, in her…blue, sparkly…eyes…why do I have to like blue eyes so much?! _"Pretty please, Ivan?" He blushed a little and pushed her off of him, covering his face so he wouldn't have to look at her.

Ivan looked at the man selling the Christmas trees, who was grinning at the both of them. Alice smiled at him hopefully and he sighed.

He rubbed his face and gave the man selling the trees a glare. "How much is it again?"

Alice jumped up and down. "Yeah! Christmas tree!"

So this is it. This is as good as this chapter will get. :/

Let me just drown my sorrows in bottles of cider.

Happy New Year!~ ^ J ^


	19. Cristmas With The Braginskis Part 2

Hey guys and girls! I hope you liked the last (really late) chapter I put up. Sorry about that. :/

Anyway, I never got to ask you how your holidays went! Mine were pretty good, I got some awesome stuff like some clothes, some money, red converses, and a broken record shirt to complete my alpha Dave cosplay!

I don't know if this chapter will be up in time (it's my father's birthday and I wanted to hang out with him and the family. You know, family comes first! And I've been studying for midterms, plus my report card is coming and I want to pick up my grade more…) but it will probably be up by Sunday…Maybe Monday….

ALSO: Thank you to the mysterious anon called "Confused reader" (XD) for the comments! They were very helpful, and because of them I am fixing my earlier chapters (but it will take a while since I am basically doing two chapters at once : / so bear with me, please?). And thank you for saying my writing got better! I can't really tell, since it's me and I don't have time to re-read all my chapters, but it means a lot that you think so!

ALSO, ALSO: And also thank you to ryuketsuki! I am happy that you think my story is nice. And also I really like yours! If any of you get a chance, you should read it. It's called It's Snowing Lies. So yeah, check it out if you guys have time.

I also added a bit of symbolism as well, I hope you could get what I meant in the one part (I won't tell you which one, you'll have to figure it out on your own) but if you didn't it's fine because it still fits well in the story. I'm just experimenting a little, trying to better my writing a bit.

But I digress (I seem to do that a lot…nervous rambling to the billionth power). Here is a new chapter for all you people!

CHAPTER 19

(TECHNICALLY I DIDN'T COUNT THAT UPDATE AS A CHAPTER, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT IS. :/ SO BASICALLY, EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS CHAPTER 20, IT'S CHAPTER 19 TO ME. XD I GUESS FROM NOW ON, EVERY CHAPTER I WRITE WILL BE 'BEHIND' THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF CHAPTERS. *SHRUGS* JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE SO YOU ALL DON'T GET CONFUSED.)

(IVAN'S POV)

Ivan left to go get the car with Alice, who was grinning from ear to ear. Ivan shoved his hands into his coat pockets and walked quickly ahead of her, burying his face into his scarf.

She ran after him, with the pom-pom on her hat bobbing up and down as she took long strides to catch up with him. "Hey wait up!" she called. He didn't slow down and Alice frowned. "Oh come on! You know you're taller than me, and you're legs are longer! That's just not fair!"

Ivan slowed down and she walked faster to catch up with him. "You're lucky that I'm not as lazy as usual today or I would not have been able to catch up with you." She said with a smile. Ivan walked slower, to keep pace with her.

"You are always lazy."

"Hey fuck you." She said with a laugh. "I'm not lazy enough to eat all day, because trust me, if I could, I would."

"I know you would. I am just surprised that you do not weigh twice what you already do; you eat as much as a man."

Alice grinned and put her hands on her hips proudly. "Hell yeah I do! I will take that as a compliment."

"Maybe that is why you are chubby." Ivan said with a smirk. He walked away from her quickly, so she wouldn't be able to catch up with him.

Alice glared at him and ran after him. "I am not chubby! I weigh 120! How is that chubby?! You're chubby! What do you weigh, 300 pounds or something?! You are like the size of a freaking house!" she yelled as she ran waved her arms around wildly as she tried to catch up with him.

He just laughed. It was fun making her angry, almost as fun as arguing with her. It was almost like having a little sister again. Ivan smiled at the thought of sisters, but then quickly wiped the idea clean from his head. He frowned and felt guilty for even thinking of anyone that could ever compare to Natalia.

He didn't want anyone to replace Natalia; no one ever could or would be able to. He could never get over what happened, or have another sister again. It was the worst feeling to have to carry around the weight of a family member's death in your heart, especially if your family was small and broken like Ivan's was. But Alice was nice to have around, even if she could never be Natalia, she was nice to have.

He laughed when she ran over to him. He poked her with one finger on her forehead, and try as she might, she could not get close enough to punch him as she wanted to. Alice tried running towards him, but he kept her at bay without even trying. She settled for cursing at him.

"Coward! I am NOT chubby! Let go of me and fight like a man!"

"I am not even holding you Alice."

She pushed him with her hand as she backed away. He stumbled backwards and would have almost fallen into the snow, if he hadn't backed into a pole first. His eyes widened in surprise, he never knew how strong Alice could be. It wasn't even forced; she pushed him effortlessly, as if he was made of paper. It was surprising and a little frightening to imagine how strong she could be if she was actually trying. He'd have to remember that next time he was joking with her. Alice crossed her arms and frowned at him

Ivan put his hands up defensively "Alright, alright. You are not chubby."

Alice smiled triumphantly. "Good. Now let's get out of here, it's like twenty degrees and I'm freezing my ass off."

Ivan moved away from the pole and dusted the snow off of his coat (which did no good, since more snow quickly replaced the snow he just wiped off in a matter of seconds). "If you would wear a coat, you would not feel so cold."

Alice frowned and dug her hands deeper into the pocket of her bomber jacket. "I didn't know how cold it was! Plus this jacket is so awesome!"

"'Awesome' until you get frostbite."

"I'll be fine" Alice said happily.

"Put your hands in your pocket before they freeze."

"Quit worrying Ivan!"

"I am _not_ worried."

"Kinda sounds like you're worrying to me!" she said with a smirk.

"Fine. Then freeze."

Ivan shrugged and got into the car. He dug into his pockets for his keys, took them out and opened the car door, letting himself in. He unlocked the passenger door and Alice got in as well.

"You worry a lot." She said as she settled into the seat comfortably.

Ivan stared at her as if she was insane.

"Of course I worry a lot, I have a job, a family, bills to pay, other things…"

Alice shrugged and put her hands behind her head, laying back in the car seat comfortably. "You got to learn to go with the flow, like me!" She grinned and pointed to herself.

"It is easy to say that when you have no responsibilities."

"I have a lot of responsibilities!"

"Such as?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Breathing, blinking, eating, not to mention sleeping and moving!" she replied. "You mean life processes?"

She laughed at her own joke. "Yeah, it's hard doing all that stuff!" her grin was replaced with a smaller smile "No, I get what you mean," she continued "apparently it's pretty hard being an adult."

He started driving back towards the corner of the block a few blocks down, where the trees were being sold.

"It is." He said quietly, to himself.

He parked the car near the corner, threw some money at the man, who was still grinning at the both of them, and carried the tree back towards the car. The man selling the trees waited for him to put the tree on his car, and then handed him plastic ties to secure the tree.

"Need some help with that?" Alice called from inside the car.

Ivan shook his head "It is too heavy for you to pick up."

Alice got out of the car and walked over to him. She rocked back and forth on her toes and watched him lift the tree and put it securely on top of the car.

"Oh! Ivan, can I tie it to the car?" she smiled at him and Ivan shrugged, not wanting to say no to her, now that he knew she would just use the puppy dog face on him again.

"Make sure that it is tight. Alright?"

Alice waved him off "Ivan I got this. I know how to tie."

"I don't want it to fall."

"I told you I got this," she sighed and mumbled under her breath "don't treat me like a kid…"

She tied the tree to the car carefully; making sure to tie it tightly and even gave it a tug for good measure, to show Ivan that the tree was tied securely.

She got into the car and closed the door. "You tied the tree well?" he asked. She rolled her eyes, nodded silently and rubbed her hands together, putting them near the car's heater.

"I am not sure that we should go to the grocery store."

She frowned "Why not?"

"Because of this blizzard." He pointed outside.

Alice laughed. "A little snow never hurt anybody. Besides," she continued with a smile "you're Russian; you should be used to snow."

Ivan laughed. "I am and that is exactly the reason that I know we should go home."

She shook her head "Oh come on, it will be fine."

"I am not sure."

"But what about when Katy comes? We won't have any food."

"I think she may have already gone to the apartment. I left a key just in case that happened, plus the doorman knows her along with everyone else who works in there. She would have no problem getting in."

"That's exactly why we should get the stuff!"

He chewed on his lip and looked outside into the blizzard. The snow was falling hard, the temperature had gone down, and the winds were a force to be reckoned with. Plus, it was almost impossible to see, let alone drive in this weather.

He sighed, "Fine. Put on your seatbelt."

"Oh come on, Ivan," Alice said "The grocery store is only a few blocks away."

"You could get hurt."

"Then it'll be my fault."

Ivan didn't answer; he was tired of arguing with her. If she didn't want to put on her seatbelt, fine. He raised the heat in the car and started to drive to the nearest grocery store. Alice looked outside and tried looking out the window.

Ivan put on the radio to listen to the weather report.

"The current weather conditions have resulted in some areas losing power and heat. We advice everyone to stay warm and inside unless necessary. Stock up on batteries and blankets! We will keep you posted as updates come in."

It was so cold outside that the heat inside had made the windows fog up. Alice smiled and used her finger to draw a smiley face with rectangular glasses. She made another that had incredibly thick eyebrows and another winking that had long hair. She drew one more that was smiling and had a scarf. She started drawing another (that was supposed to be Yao) but stopped when she turned around and noticed Ivan give her a sideways glance.

She back turned around and quickly erased the window-picture she made. She looked through the window and saw nothing but white.

"Wow, I can't see a thing!" she exclaimed. "Hey Ivan, are you seeing this?" she turned to him with an awe-struck expression plastered on her face. "I never saw a blizzard like this before!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Ivan was about to answer when suddenly, another car made a quick turn, almost hitting them in the process. Ivan's eyes widened in fear and everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the car drove closer to them.

For a second he didn't know what to do, as if his whole mind had been wiped clean. Alice pulled on his coat sleeve, to get his attention and he blinked out of his daze and gripped on the steering wheel, swerving to the left as to not get struck by the other car. Alice screamed as the motion made her jerk forward and almost hit the dashboard of the car.

Ivan's eyes darted from the car to her and he pushed his arm out in front of her, pushing her back while shielding her from the potential crash. He hit the brakes and pushed tighter onto Alice's chest so she wouldn't fall forward. The other car stopped for a moment, and then drove away, the driver probably not wanting to get into any trouble.

Ivan felt like his heart was going to explode from his chest and he turned to Alice, who was breathing in and out quickly.

"What the fuck was that?!" she exclaimed. She didn't wait for an answer, but instead looked to see if Ivan was hurt.

"Are you okay?" she said hurriedly. She moved his hand away, not caring or noticing that he was just grabbing her breasts a moment ago. She grabbed his head and looked him over before he could answer.

"I am fine," he grabbed her hand and looked at her for any signs of harm on her "are you alright?"

She nodded "Yeah…I'm fine. Thanks."

He let go of her hand (more like threw it as if it were garbage) and gave her the angriest look he could muster at the moment.

"That is why you have to wear a seatbelt!"

Alice didn't say anything, and hung her head as she felt a rant coming on.

"You could have gotten hurt! You could have died all because you didn't put on a seatbelt like I told you to! "

"I'm sorry."

"Why can't you just listen to me? I told you to wear a seatbelt and you did not, I told you to stay close and you ran away, why can't you just do what I say?!"

"I said I was sorry!" she exclaimed loudly.

"What if you died? You cannot be sorry if you are dead!"

"Why do you care?! It was me who would've gotten hurt, not you!"

Ivan stared at her but couldn't find anything to say, he was so in awe about her comment. Did she not realize how stupidly she was acting? _How can she be so selfish!? _

"Maybe if you stopped telling me what to do all the time, I would listen!" she continued.

"That does not even make sense!"

"Whatever! I am not a little kid! Stop telling me what to do and stop yelling at me like a dad!"

"I would not have to treat you like a child if you acted like an adult! I am sorry that I do not want you to die, Alice! Next time, I will be sure to let you do more dangerous things, without caring at all."

Alice glared at him. "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Then what do you mean? Please Alice, enlighten me!"

"You want to know? Fine, here it is: I am an adult and I can make my own decisions! I can do whatever I want!"

"You sure do a great job of acting like one! And what decisions are you going to make? To die? Is that your decision?"

"If I want to, then I can and you can't stop me!"

"Fine! Die for all I care! Get yourself killed!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Great! But do not come back for my advice after you get hurt!"

She scoffed. "Advice?! Since when is ordering me around advice? All you do is tell me what to do, and then yell at me if something bad happens! I'll do things on my own! Even if I get hurt, at least it's because I'm the one calling the shots!"

"You do not get to call any 'shots' remember? We have a contract, or did you forget?"

"Of course I remember signing that stupid thing! Worst decision of my life!"

"Really? Then leave, no one is stopping you!"

"You know that I can't even if I want to! I'm stuck with you!"

"Do you think it is any better for me?! I have to be stuck with you!"

"Oh well sorry for being such a burden on your hard life Ivan! Please, let me be a good wife and do everything you say because obviously you're smarter than me, right? Let me just be treated like a stupid little kid while you yell at me! Sure, no problem! I'll stay in this dumb fake marriage, it doesn't matter that you hate me or I hate you because we all have our own agendas, isn't that right? I get what you need me now. You need to put on a good show and keep up the stupid fake sham, and I'm the main fucking attraction! You know what?! No! You can go and shove that stupid little contract right up your-"

"ENOUGH ALREADY ALICE!" he yelled as he slammed his fist on the dashboard.

Alice flinched a little in surprise. She opened her mouth o yell back at him but she was cut off before she could even get a word out.

"Just be quiet already!" he shouted. He started glared at her before starting to drive again. He made a U turn to head the opposite way.

"Stop the car." Alice ordered.

"Excuse me?"

"I said stop the fucking car."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to be with right now, I'll walk to the apartment on my own."

"You do not have a key and there is a blizzard outside."

"Oh please, tell me what to do again, Ivan." She said sarcastically. She opened the door and started to get out of the car. "I'm leaving."

Ivan opened his mouth to tell her again to not leave but before he could stop her, she got up from the seat and tried to leave the car. Ivan reached to pull her back inside, but instead pulled her coat off of her as she ran outside and slammed the door. Ivan eyes widened and he struggled to unbuckle his seatbelt

"ALICE!" he called angrily as she ran out outside into the blizzard with no jacket, and no intention of coming back.

He fiddled with the belt and looked out of the window, watching Alice run outside into the cold. "Alice!" Ivan yelled. Her figure was quickly hidden in the snow and wind. Ivan finally got the belt to unlock, grabbed her jacket, and got out of the car. He was quickly engulfed in a world of white. His eyes tried to adjust to the snow blinding them, but it was no use, the snow and wind were too much.

All traces of Alice were gone, he couldn't even see in front of him, let alone see Alice, who was probably off looking for the Christmas tree."Alice!" he yelled over the howling wind. He squinted his eyes as they were stung by the harsh wind. His voice was drowned out by the wind but he didn't stop calling for her.

"Alice! Alice where are you! If you hear me, say something!" he was scared for her. She could be hurt in this storm. He couldn't see anything and he was still standing still, not wanting to get too far from the car because when he did find her they needed to get home.

Ivan looked down at the jacket in his hands. "Alice you idiot!" He yelled into the wind. If she was out there too long, she would surely get sick from the cold. Ivan gripped on her jacket tighter and yelled her name again, with no results.

Even if she did hear him (which was highly unlikely due to the wind), she definitely could not see anything, especially with her already bad eye sight. She could've fell or bumped into a pole or a tree. She could've been hit by someone driving a car that could not see her….At the thought of that, Ivan's mind went into frenzy. He started thinking of everything and anything that could've happened to her.

"ALICE!" he yelled as loud as he could. He ran from the side of the car and felt around with his hands, trying to grab onto anything, anything at all. The wind blew at him and forced him away. "ALICE!" Tears streamed down from his face as his eyes were stung by the wind. He wiped them and looked all around, not caring that he was getting farther away from the car.

It had already been fifteen minutes and he had not seen any sign of her. He was either going the wrong way, or Alice was walking too fast to keep up. He suspected that it was a combination of the two. He grumbled curses under his breath and walked towards the general direction she had headed in.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew the jacket out of his hands and Ivan ran after it, chasing it as it tumbled on the ground and finally ended near what looked like a fire hydrant. He knelt down to pick it up and saw a set of footprints, too big to be a child's but smaller than his. He got up and looked ahead, up the rest of the block. He couldn't see well, but it seemed that the footprints were leading up the block. He held onto Alice's jacket and used his other hand to shield his face.

He followed the footprints carefully, being sure not to miss any, or he would lose the trail. He really hoped that these were Alice's footprints, or he would be wasting more time. "Alice?" he yelled over the wind. It had died down slightly, so now he could hear and see a little better. The footprints continued forward and he followed. He called her name every so often, in case he was getting closer to her.

His voice was getting hoarse and it seemed that there was no way he could find her in this weather. He sighed and stopped for a moment. "Alice, you idiot!" he exclaimed louder and gripped her jacket tightly in anger. _When I find her..._ Ivan couldn't finish what he was going to think, because just then he saw something. It was someone walking up the block quickly. He couldn't tell if it was her, but who else was walking in the blizzard in the direction of the apartment they shared?

"Alice?" he called back. He ran on ahead calling her name "Alice? Alice, is that you?". The figure didn't stop, he could see it clearly now. It looked like Alice.

"Go away!" the voice said over the wind.

Now Ivan was sure that it was her.

"Alice!" he yelled. He ran after her and grabbed her hand when he was close enough to her. He pulled her back and she frowned.

"Go away." She said half-heartedly. Really, she just wanted to make a point, but it was hard when it was below freezing and you couldn't see.

She tugged her hand out of his grasp and stood in front of him, not sure where she should go.

"Just come to the fucking car before you freeze!" he yelled over the wind.

"Stop telling me what to do!" she yelled back.

"Oh my God, Alice…" he rubbed his forehead "Can you come back to the car already?!"

She frowned at him but didn't move towards the car.

"I have had enough of this." He grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the car.

"You are freezing." He continued as he felt her ice cold hand in his. He stopped pulling her along and handed her the jacket he was still holding. Alice took it and struggled to put it on, her fingers were numb from the cold. She tried slipping it on again but Ivan stopped her.

"I can put on a jacket by myself!"

"Not with you being numb."

Alice grumbled under her breath but didn't stop him. The weather was freezing and Alice felt like she was going to freeze if she didn't put anything to cover herself on.

He took the jacket and picked up her arm, which was just as cold as her hand and slipped it through the sleeve. He did the same with her other arm and knelt down to zip it up. He looked at her thoughtfully. She still looked cold and the jacket was probably not doing a thing to stop the wind and snow.

He sighed and started unbuttoning his own coat.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked. "It's cold; don't take off your coat."

He took his coat off, making sure to leave his scarf on. This left him in his white button down and trousers, along with said scarf. He slipped his coat on her, using the same method as he did with her jacket before. It was much too big, but at least she wouldn't be as cold. He buttoned it up to the top and patted her head when he was done.

"There." He said with a smile and tilted his head to the side. She actually looked very cute. The coat reached just above Ivan's knees, but on Alice it almost reached the ground. The sleeves were too big on her as well; it looked like the kind Yao wore. She looked like a little girl, trying on her parents clothes.

Alice narrowed her eyes at him and placed her hands on her hips. "You just enjoy making me look stupid, don't you?"

His usual smile didn't leave his face. When she frowned it made her look even cuter, especially with the coat and all the snow stuck on her eyelashes and hair. She looked like the picture of winter, except for her hair. It almost kind of ruined it, but Ivan didn't mind since her hair was the same color as the sunflowers he and his sisters loved.

"You look cute." He said in a matter of fact way.

"I am not 'cute'! And I'm still mad at you" she yelled angrily.

"I do not think you have right to be mad at me. I just walked through a blizzard to find you and put up with your yelling. If anything, I should be mad at _you."_

"Then why aren't you?"  
"I never was angry at you." He shrugged "I was just frustrated with you."

"Hmpf." She grumbled to herself. "I'm still pissed at you."

She was angry at him still, but she was angrier about looking and feeling like an inferior compared to him. The way he acted around her was so "kid friendly", so condescending, it annoyed her. Even the way he treated her and talked to her was nice and sugar coated and made her feel like she was a little kid.

He patted her on the head like she was an obedient child, he scolded her when she did something wrong, and he was always nagging her like a mother. He acted like less of a husband and more of father. It seemed that everyone was older than her, even if by a year or two.

And because they were older they treated her like a kid, and that annoyed her, mostly because she was never treated like one her whole life. Ever since she was young enough to work, Alice had been out on her own, making money on her own, taking care of herself and her brother. She had to grow up quickly and be an adult, along with Matthew.

She learned to take of herself and to be independent and now that people were taking care of her and treating her like a kid… it made her feel less than them. And if there was one thing she didn't like, it was being treated as an inferior.

She started walking away in a huff and stopped when he didn't follow her. "Take me back to the apartment, Ivan. It's cold as shit out here…"

He cleared his throat and adjusted his scarf, wrapping it tighter so it wouldn't blow away. "You are right, we should go home." They started walking back to the car. This was easier, since their footprints could still be seen, despite the snow covering them a little. Plus, the wind had let up temporarily so it was easier to walk without being pushed back.

He stopped looking at the footprints and glanced at her. "Where is your hat?" he asked when he noticed that the fluffy blue hat that was there before was not there anymore.

"It kind of blew away in the wind. "she said sadly. "It was a nice hat…"She rubbed her cold ears with her hands, trying to warm them. It didn't help, because her whole body was freezing, so she just shrugged and shoved her hands back into her pockets.

"Aren't you cold?" Alice questioned as a particularly brisk rush of wind hit them, almost blowing Ivan's scarf away and making Alice's hair fly into her face.

"Not really." He responded, still wearing his neutral smile that he always wore. "I like the cold weather best." He finished dreamily.

Alice raised an eyebrow and studied him. He didn't seem to be shivering and his teeth weren't chattering even though it was officially below freezing. It didn't seem humanly possible for it to be this cold and to not feel a thing.

_How is he NOT freezing? Fucking weird…_

"Come on, we have to find the car." Ivan said.

He took her hand. She instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but corrected herself, instead letting him hold her hand when she noticed that his were warmer. It was much warmer than hers, despite still being cold and Alice tolerated it, even though she was still angry at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Holding your hand. "he answered simply.

Alice rolled her eyes "I know that. But why?"

"One because you are cold and my hands are warmer. Two because I do not want to lose you again. Put your other hand in your pocket."

"I'm not going to get lost. Stop telling me what to do." she said in an annoyed tone. She ripped her hand out form his grasp and shoved it into her pocket. "You treating me like a kid again."

"How are you angry? I am the one that had to go through a blizzard to find you! You did not even thank me!" he replied, struggling to keep the lighthearted tone in his voice.

"I could have got back to the apartment myself!" she yelled.

"Really? Then why were you still stuck in the snow?" he asked, laughing a little as he regained his composure.

"Because I got lost!" She ended the last bit of the sentence angrily and walked away faster from him. She was still shivering and looked down into the snow, kicking a large pile in anger. Her tone changed from embarrassed to angry as she targeted another pile of snow and kicked it harder. "I was fine on my own. I am not a little kid! So don't treat me like one!"

"Don't bring this up again, Alice!"

"I wouldn't have to, if you'd just stop it!"

"I do not treat you like a child Alice; you make me treat you like one! You always get lost, always run away, and you can never take care of yourself!"

"Well I'm sorry that I'm such a burden! If I am so much trouble, why don't you just get rid of me!" she walked faster, so that she was in front of him. She half-expected him to follow after her again, but wasn't surprised when he didn't.

"I never said you were a burden! Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"But you meant it! Didn't you?" when he didn't answer she narrowed her eyes.

"Alice you idiot!" he exclaimed angrily. "You are not anything close to a burden!"

Alice's eyes narrowed in confusion and she tilted her head a little.

"Look, you may be a bit of a handful and hard to handle but I do not think of you as a burden."

"Then why were you mad at me?"

"I was worried about you! Why do you think I was calling you!?I was scared that you were hurt! I thought you could have gotten hurt before and now again when you were stuck in the blizzard. And instead of being relieved that you are alright, I have to be angry with you because you are picking fights again!"

Alice was about to respond when he first started speaking but quickly closed her mouth when he said that he was worried about her.

"You…were worried?" She thought he'd be angry with her, not worried about her.

"Of course I was." He said. It seemed obvious to him that that was the only answer there ever could be. _Why else would I go to find you if I didn't care?_

She was a bit surprised at that. She did think that he needed to look for her, but she thought it was more out of obligation than anything, not because he was actually genuinely worried about her well-being. It was nice to feel cared about; it had certainly been a long time since she felt that way.

Alice really thought that he'd be angry about her making him search in a blizzard for her (and he was, to some extent), not worried if she was okay. She ran her still numb fingers through her hair and smiled sheepishly.

"I feel kinda stupid now…"

"Well you should."

He walked closer to her and took her hand again. This time Alice didn't take it back, but let it hang limply in his grasp.

"I'm still pissed at you though." She said half heartedly.

"No you aren't."

"You're right. "she shrugged "I can't really stay mad at people, I don't hold grudges."

"That makes two of us…mostly." He added when he thought of anyone that had dared to say anything bad about his family, those were the people he had been angry with. He never really held grudges (minus Gilbert's case) and he felt that he was a relatively happy person, so being angry at people for too long over stupid fights (like the one Alice and he had had) was a waste of time and energy.

"Sorry…for making you worried and stuff." She answered, a little embarrassed about her outburst, though she still thought that it was justified. She chewed on her lip, a habit of hers, along with aggressively cleaning her glasses for no particular reason, even if they were already cleaned.

"It is alright." He answered.

She frowned and hugged him. He was surprised for a moment and his eyes widened as she squeezed him a little. Alice looked up at him, still hugging him "I'm sorry, is it okay if I hug you…some people don't like to be hugged and stuff. You know, but I'm more of a hugger and I don't really-"he hugged back, almost smothering her in the process. Alice felt a little lightheaded from the lack of air and him squeezing her too tightly so she punched him on the back gently until he loosened his arms around her.

"You have to work on not killing people when you hug them…" she trailed off.

He smiled and poked her cheek softly. Alice laughed and pulled one arm out of the hug to poke him back in the stomach. He smiled and hit her on the head. Alice frowned and pushed him away from him.

"What the fuck was that for?! I thought we were having a moment!" she said as she rubbed her head and glared at him.

"Do not ever run away like that again." He said cheerfully.

"You are one crazy dude." Alice said angrily. "You're lucky that I like you though." She added with a half-smile.

"You're lucky that I like you," he replied "because every time I am with you, you seem to make me angry." She grabbed his hand and he smiled.

"Just doing my job." She said jokingly. It was fun when they could talk and just banter with each other. It was fun and the most entertaining thing she did ever since Ivan had married her. Scratch that. It was probably the most fun she had been having for a while. It felt like she was having a good time for the first time(No innuendo intended).

"Then you are doing a great job." He answered back, with a sweet tone. She smirked at him and answered by squeezing his hand a little. He squeezed back and shook his head at her while smiling a tired smile.

"I think I see the car." He said as he squinted his eyes and looked ahead. There was the car, still parked in the same spot as before.

"Great, because I am freezing!" Alice said her voice full of relief.

^ J ^

By the time they had gotten back to the apartment, it was late. Ivan parked the car in the parking lot near the apartment, made only for the people who lived inside.

Alice got out of the car and stared at the darkness that engulfed them.

"Why is it so dark?" she asked as she stared into the unnaturally dark parking area. Usually lights were glowing, making the lot lit softly.

Ivan looked around as well and saw that all the lights were off. "I am not sure…They did say that some areas would have blackouts…"

Alice squinted and tried to adjust to the sudden darkness. "That means we won't have any power?" she asked quietly.

"Or heat probably." He answered.

"Wait, what about the tree?"

"I will get it tomorrow. It is late and I just want to sleep."

They had to take the stairs up to the top floor, since the elevator would probably not work because of the power outage. Ivan was sued to taking the stairs, from time to time he took them instead of the elevator, sometimes to have more time to think, other times just because he wanted to.

Alice, on the other hand, was not used to walking up the many stairs to reach the penthouse apartment. She was positively out of breath by the time they reached their floor.

"What the fuck were you thinking when you rented this apartment?" she asked in between harsh, rushed breaths.

Ivan laughed. "The top apartment is always the best, Alice." He explained as he unlocked the door.

"I don't see the difference; all these apartments look expensive to me." Truthfully, all the apartments seemed the same to her. They all looked expensive (and by that she mean over-priced) and fancy. She really could not tell the difference between those apartments, expensive was expensive, right?

He walked into the house slowly and quietly. Alice followed him, and slammed the door shut, not getting the hint to be quiet. Ivan gave her a look that told her to be quiet and Alice sheepishly smiled. "Whoops." She said softly and shrugged.

Ivan walked though the foyer into the living room quietly. Alice followed him, trying to be as silent as him. "Damn, it's freezing in here!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, it seems I was correct about the heat unfortunately. And be quiet Alice!" he answered back in hushed, annoyed whispers.

"Why are we being so quiet?" Alice asked as quietly as she could (which was still very loud compared to Ivan's almost silent whispers).

Ivan shushed her and looked around the living room. Alice did not understand what he was looking for. "Ivan?" she asked more quietly.

"I am trying to see if my sister is here." He walked over to the kitchen and saw that she wasn't there either.

"Okay…But why are we being quiet?" she asked as she followed Ivan into the hallway, making sure to not step on any floorboards that might creak.

"If she is here, she will probably be asleep, and I do not want to wake her up." He answered.

He looked into the hallway and saw no sign of her being there, all the lights were off, and none of her belongings were there.

He turned back to Alice. "I do not think she is here, but just in case be quiet, alright?" he told her.

Alice shrugged. "I'll try."

He opened the door to his bedroom and Alice followed him. Ivan raised an eyebrow at her, asking her without saying anything why she was there.

Alice pointed to the coat she was wearing. She tried unbuttoning the coat, which was pretty hard for her, since the coat had small metal hooks that fastened to loops within the folds of the coat instead of buttons.

"How the hell do you take this thing off?" she exclaimed softly, still trying to be quiet in case he was wrong and Katyusha was actually there. Ivan giggled and walked over to her.

"It is not buttons; they are little hooks and loops." He shooed her hands away from the fastenings and unhooked one. "See?" he said as he showed her how to do it.

"Why would anyone put that on a coat? It's like a trap. A warm, fluffy trap."

Ivan laughed and finished un-hooking the hooks from the loops on the coat. "There." He said when he was finished. She took the coat off and handed it to him, and he ruffled her hair fondly in return.

She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not wanting to leave but not knowing if she should stay either. He looked at her with bright violet eyes and she looked back with sparkling blue ones. When she noticed that he looked back at her, Alice quickly looked away. It just felt strange having someone stare at you while you looked at them back. Ivan didn't seem to mind just looking at her, but Alice felt a little odd being stared at. He looked at her curiously and she scratched her head.

"Uh…Right." She said after a few moments, finally looking away from him. It was hard to, since after all, she was being stared at, but it just felt so awkward.

"Um…Well, goodnight then…I guess? Thank you, again for…all of that and stuff…" she said all this slowly, trying to find the right words but failing to, since Ivan did not let his gaze wander form her. It made her a bit flustered. "I guess I will go then…"

"You could stay, if you want to." He answered, still smiling. "It _is_ cold in here and it is better for you to stay warm."

"Hm…" Alice said slowly and bit her lip.

_Change tactics._ Ivan thought to himself.

"And I would be cold too." He said slowly, using a new approach.

"Well I wouldn't want that." Alice answered. "You could get sick and it would be my fault."

"How mature." He said sarcastically.

"I know." She answered with a smirk. "if you insist, I will sleep with you, but only because you asked me to."

"Of course." He answered, with a bit of sarcasm.

Alice and Ivan stared at each other for a moment. Alice rocked back and forth on her heels and Ivan played with his scarf. Neither knew what they should be doing.

"You should probably change." Ivan suggested.

"Right!" Alice answered quickly. She ran out of the room, fell down and smiled at him before quickly running away to go change in her own room.

Ivan chuckled to himself and started changing as well, being especially careful when taking off his scarf. He took off his pants and folded them neatly, placing them on the dresser near the bathroom door along with his scarf. He lifted his shirt up over his head and folded that as well, putting it on top of his pants.

Alice walked back into the room as he was taking his shirt off.

She instantly covered her eyes with her hands and tried to retreat back into the hallway."Ivan what the fuck?! I said I would sleep with you, not _sleep with you_!"

Ivan laughed. "I am not naked. I still have boxers on and you have seen me without a shirt on before."

She took her hands away from her eyes and pointed to his dresser. "I don't care! Throw on a shirt or something or the deal's off!"

He shrugged and started looking for a tee shirt to wear. "I did not realize this was a deal Alice…What do I get in return then?" he added with a smirk.

"You get me not punching you in the face!" she exclaimed angrily "Now put on some clothes before I change my mind!"

He took a white shirt out of his drawers and put it on. "I was just making a joke…There." He said as he turned around so she could look at him.

"Alright then." Alice said softly. Truthfully she wouldn't mind having him with no shirt on, but it was a bit too much for her to handle. Plus, it was a bit unfair. She was wearing shorts and a big tee shirt and he would be wearing almost nothing. That had to be cheating.

Ivan climbed into bed on the side closest to the bathroom door. Alice stood where she was, not knowing where else to go.

"Alice?"

"Huh?"

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. "

"Alright…Are you going to come?'

She crossed her arms over her chest and pointed to where he was laying down. "I like that side."

"…What?"

"I like that side that you're sleeping on." She said as she narrowed her eyes and pouted her lips.

"Are you serious?"

"Ivan I don't joke about sleep."

"Oh my God…" he rubbed his forehead "we can share the side."

"What the fuck? No. That's weird. And plus you'll take up all the space!"

"Alice you are too immature."

"Fine then I'll go."

"Goodbye then." He turned over away from her and brought the covers up over him.

"I'm leaving…" she announced as she walked away a little.

"Alright."

"I'm almost near the door…."

"Do you need help opening it?"

"I'm opening the door….."

"Good for you."

Alice frowned and threw her hands up in frustration. "Oh come on Ivan just give me the side!"

He chuckled and moved over to the other side. "There." He announced "Are you happy now?"

She walked over to the bed and climbed in as well, pulling the covers from Ivan gently, and wrapping it around her a bit.

"Yes, yes I am."

She lay down rigidly and looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to look anywhere else. Ivan was lying on his side, his elbow resting on the bed so he was facing her.

"Well… goodnight then…" she said slowly, still not looking at him.

Ivan peered at her and frowned. He moved closer to her and Alice flipped over to her side so she was facing him. Her eyes widened as he moved closer to her, so that their faces were only an inch apart. Up close, she could see how handsome he was.

Alice always sported a healthy tan and freckles on her cheeks, but Ivan had nothing, no freckles, no spots, nothing on his almost perfect looking, pale skin. His eyes seemed to even glow in the dark as they came closer into view. They were the most beautiful color she had ever seen, they reminded her of her brother's eyes, though Ivan's were a lighter shade of violet. His eternal smile was on his face as always but right now it was softer and sweeter than usual.

He slipped his hand behind her neck and gently pulled her closer to him so that they were both looking at each other in the eyes. Now Alice couldn't escape his gaze, and her eyes widened even more. She wanted to move away but didn't at the same time. She stuck with doing nothing. He licked his lips and smiled again. _What the hell is happening?! _Alice thought to herself frantically. He moved in closer so that his mouth was near her ear. Her cheeks blushed a dark shade of red and she moved her face away a little.

"You are still wearing your glasses." He whispered softly. Alice blinked and her mouth opened to say something but only air came out she closed her mouth quickly. He slipped her glasses off of her face and smiled. "Much better!" he announced happily as he sat up and set them down on the night stand near her.

"W-what was that?" she asked in a mixture of anger, surprise, and confusion.

"Hm?" he asked with a little smile.

"That! What you just did right there!"

"I took off your glasses."

"Not that! You know-Oh my god, never mind!"

Ivan frowned.

"I think you live to make me look stupid." She grumbled to herself.

"Do you think that I treat you like a child?" he said after a little while.

She shrugged "Well yeah, kind of. But I'm the younger one, so I guess it's kind of expected." She sighed "I know you don't mean to make me feel like that, it's just kinda a bi-product of you being older and more 'adult-y' I guess. I'm sorry for making a fight and stuff."

He smiled. "I am sorry for making you feel that way. But you know I only act that way because I care."

"I know." She paused a moment "Do you think that I'm really childish?"

"Yes."

She turned over and frowned at him.

He shrugged "It is the truth, Alice." He smiled "but it is endearing so I do not care too much. Usually, I would be annoyed if someone acted the way you did, but I do not really mind if you do."

He laughed a little and lay back down on his back. They were both quiet for a while; neither said or did anything but look at the ceiling.

"Are you alright with this?" Ivan asked after a while.

"What?"

"This," He repeated "sleeping here."

"Oh." She chewed on her lip "I'm fine."

"Good. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

_You fucking failed at that bro. I mean have you seen your face?! How could you not suddenly feel uncomfortable? You are too good looking to not make people feel uncomfortable plus your freaking nice and funny too you stupid idiot._

"No, you're not." She answered quietly. "I'm actually pretty comfortable. You know 'cause it's a bed and it's comfy and stuff…"

Ivan laughed a little. "Right."

"Yeah well…goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Ivan moved over to her and pecked her on the cheek softly. Alice's eyes widened and her cheeks turned red.

"Was that alright?" he asked when he saw her eyes widen and her whole form become rigid all over again. _I hope I did not make her uncomfortable…_

"No…that…was….fine." she replied slowly. Her voice was just a squeak at this point and it sounded almost robotic, since most of her brain was in shock.

Ivan smiled. "Goodnight then Alice!"

Alice nodded and turned away from him. At least now he couldn't see her face turn red when they weren't looking at each other.

^ J ^

IVAN'S POV

Ivan woke up in the middle of the night when he heard a noise. He frowned and opened his eyes. He saw nothing there.

_It must have been the wind._

Suddenly he felt something tickled his nose. He scrunched up his node and looked down to see a little tuft of Alice's dirty blonde hair near his face. He frowned and squinted as the room came into view as his adjusted to the dark. It wasn't only Alice's hair that was near him. It seemed that in her sleep, they had snuggled close to each other.

He was holding onto her with one arm wrapped around her while the other was under his head. Alice's face was against his chest while one hand lay over his side the other was under her head in what looked like a very uncomfortable angle. Her leg was over his, and wrapped around his so that it made it impossible for him to move without waking her in the process. Her body was right against his, so that there was almost no space between them. Her mouth was open a little and he could feel her breathing steadily and softly, as little breaths hit his chest.

His eyes widened a little when he noticed how close they were. He took his arm out from under his head to brush away her little antenna of hair that was tickling his nose. The little hair seemed to defy gravity though, and it flicked right back up. He tried flicking it away but it sprung back up again. He frowned and flattened it down with his hand, but it sprang back up again.

He patted it down again and once more but it sprung back up again and again. Alice brushed his hand away in her sleep and made a noise between a growl and a groan. She frowned a little and grumbled incoherently.

"Shhh…" he said softly, not moving so he wouldn't wake her.

Ivan stopped touching her until she stopped moving. She snuggled closer to Ivan and rubbed her head against his chest. His smiled and patted her back, rubbing up and down slowly. He brushed away the strands of hair that hung in her face and smiled at how serene she looked when asleep. She stopped frowning and smiled in her sleep as she mumbled something about the cold.

"Shhh…" he said softly and rubbed small circle into her back again.

_She is almost too cute for her own good…and naive too._

Ever since he had met her, Alice had made his life a whole lot harder. She caused a lot of stress and made him constantly worry (then again, he worried about everything, it was a horrible habit of his). She got lost, ran away, and said and did things without thinking. She was immature and annoying at times and he didn't know if he wanted to scream at her or hug her.

But, she was funny and cute and a dummy in the most endearing way possible. And despite being so young, she had gone through so much. He didn't know the whole story of her childhood, but if it was as bad as he thought, she deserved a lot more credit than she got.

She had snaked her way into his life and there was no way to make her leave, not that he necessarily wanted her to anyway. He had grown pretty fond of her over the months they had been together. It seemed that whenever she was around, it was like an adventure. She was spontaneous and crazy and hard to handle.

It scared Ivan that she could have gotten hurt when they almost crashed. He was worried for her and it made him surprised to think that she thought he could actually be mad at her for any time longer than an hour at most. It seemed impossible that anyone could really ever be mad at her; she was just too good hearted.

That was something else that made Ivan like her. She might not think a lot sometimes, but she had a lot heart, and that made all the difference. She genuinely cared about people, and was brave. But if her personality wasn't enough, she was beautiful as well. And not the kind of beautiful that took an hour to do no, she was beautiful without trying.

She woke up and she looked nice, even with her hair being a mess and her glasses askew on her face. She looked cute with snow on her eyelashes and her cheeks blushing. She even looked cute when she was yelling at him. When she smiled though, was when she was at her most beautiful. Her smile was bright and inviting and sweet and everything that was good in the world was what made up her smile.

Her eyes were some of the bluest and brightest he had ever seen, and Ivan was a sucker for blue eyes. It seemed that her eyes constantly sparkled like stars, especially when she smiled. Her hair was the exact color of the flowers he loved so much and the freckles that dotted her cheeks and nose reminded him of summer and sunshine. Whenever he was with her, he felt happy. He couldn't stop smiling, and even though he always wore one, this one was real.

Despite all of this, he couldn't feel anything for her. He wanted to, truly he wished he could. But the facts were the facts, they weren't married for love. Even if he did love her (which he didn't), he didn't know if she would feel the same. He did however like her as a sister. He seemed to always put up an 'older brother' sort of air around her. He usually brushed it off as her being immature, but the fact was that he really did care and want to take care of her.

But even caring about her like that was too much. Ivan had brought enough pain to people; he didn't want to include Alice. He always ended up pushing people away anyway; it was hard getting attached to someone that would just leave you anyway. He preferred to keep himself separate from people for this reason.

_No, it is better to be cold. This has to stop…_

He didn't want to make her involved in his work, so it was better to be cold in the long run. Even if the person ran away, it was better to not get hurt.

_You cannot lose what you never have…This has to stop._

The wind howled loudly, making the windows shake a little from the force. Alice's eyes fluttered a little and they opened slowly. She yawned and stared at Ivan groggily. She smiled when she saw that Ivan was looking at her. While Ivan was nicer when he was tired, she was nicer when she was too groggy to try to be embarrassed. "Ivan." She whispered slowly "What are you doing awake?"

He smiled back "I am just thinking," He patted her head softly. "go back to sleep."

She nodded, too tired to notice how close they were, or how Ivan was now stroking her hair. "Go to sleep too." She whispered as she started falling back asleep.

"I will." He stopped touching her hair and stroked her cheek. Alice smiled and put her hand over his for a moment, giving it a quick squeeze before covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Good…you need it…" she said as her eyes started drooping closed. He traced his thumb across her cheek for a moment and watched as she fell back asleep. He yawned and went back into the odd cuddling position they were in before. He shut his eyes and listened to her breathe softly as he fell asleep.

_I will stop later…_

^ J ^

Ivan had left for work before Alice had even woken up. Katyusha came the next day to stay over. Feliks came over to stay as well a few hours later and they spent the rest of the day together.

Since they knew there was going to be a Christmas party, they had been decorating all day. That, and they had nothing else to do since the heat and power were still gone.

Feliks was hanging up a few mistletoe leaves around the house, in places that were not very noticeable, but still noticeable enough to be seen if you stood under it, but by then it would be too late.

"What are you doing?" Katyusha asked with a smile.

"Nothing," he replied "just hanging up some mistletoe."

"You mean tricking people into kissing each other?" Alice asked with a smirk as she stood on tip toe on a chair and struggled to hang the wreath straight on the front door.

"Potato, Tomato."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how the saying goes…" Katyusha corrected.

"Well whatever, the point is, it's going to be totally awesome to make people kiss!"

"You are one sick little bro and I love you." Alice said with a grin.

"Thank you, girl." He said with a grin just as wide.

"Make sure to get Francis and Arthur." Katyusha suggested happily.

"Katyusha you're so bad!" Feliks exclaimed "But you are so right! They have to kiss!"

Alice hopped down from the chair and pointed to the wreath. "What do you guys think?"

"Good job!" Katyusha said encouragingly.

"Thanks!" Alice answered as she climbed down from the chair she was standing on to reach the top of the front door to hang the wreath.

Feliks nodded in approval at the whole foyer. "This looks like it's totally from a magazine!"

"Right?" Alice high fived him. "We could totally be interior designers or something!"

"Oh my god yes! Alice that is what we are going to do!"

They all laughed.

"I hope the power is on by the time Christmas comes." Alice said hopefully.

"Me too." Katyusha said.

"Yeah. What kind of Christmas has no lights?" he added.

"A shitty one." Alice replied.

They all nodded.

"So what about the tree?" Katyusha asked as she jerked her thumb in the direction of the huge tree standing in the living room.

Alice laughed. "I think we should wait until more people come, taller people."

"Excuse me?" Feliks said as he pointed to himself.

They both ignored him; he wasn't of much help considering he was only a few inches taller than Katyusha. Alice wouldn't be any help either, considering she was the shortest.

Katyusha laughed as well. "My thoughts exactly." She sat at the piano and rested her hands on the keys for a moment before smiling softly.

Alice cocked her head to the side and stood beside her. "Can you play?"

"A little. We all could, I mean my siblings and I. But Ivan plays the piano best."

"Really?" Now she wanted to see him play, he certainly seemed the type to be able to play well.

"He's like freaking amazing at it, I've seen play a few times."

"Oh yes, he could play really well." She agreed "He does everything pretty well, that's just his nature."

Feliks nodded. "That is the friggin truth. Ever since we were little, he'd always try to be the best."

Katyusha laughed and nodded.

"Hey but what about this party? Ivan doesn't seem to be the kind to throw parties, right?" Alice asked.

She laughed and nodded "He isn't but he started to when Feliks kept bothering him about it."

Alice laughed "I could see you doing that." She said as she looked at Feliks.

"Hey," he shrugged "I wanted a party!"

"Well that's what he did and Ivan gave in. Feliks can be pretty tenacious when he wants to be, I guess it runs in the family."

"Wait," Alice said in surprise "you are related to him?"

"Wait, you didn't know?" Feliks asked.

"No." she laughed "You guys don't really look alike."

Katyusha shrugged "That's true, but we are related. His father is our uncle." She paused "Why did you think Ivan puts up with him all the time? I love you Feliks, but you can be a bit…overwhelming at times."

"I love you too cousin!" he said, giving her a hug.

They all laughed and spent the rest of the week hanging out. They decorated, shopped for presents, and bought groceries since the weather had let up and the storm had died down long ago.

It was nice despite the power being out for a day afterwards. The heat came on the next day and she would have gone back to her room, but Katyusha was staying there. Feliks was staying in the only other guest room (minus the one that was crowded with things that Ivan always kept closed). So, Alice was forced to stay with Ivan, not that she minded the least bit.

^ J ^

The days passed by and soon it was soon the morning of Christmas Eve, the day of Ivan's party. Even though it was still early, Katyusha and Feliks were already in the kitchen, cooking. Alice awoke to the smell of pie baking and her stomach growled as she walked into the kitchen.

"Damn, it's early to be making food."

Katyusha glanced at the clock. "It's almost eleven."

"Like I said, early." She sat down at the table and yawned.

Feliks laughed. "Are you hungry, because don't eat too much because you'll totally ruin your appetite! Me and Katy have been cooking all day and the food is gonna be so friggin good! Right Katy?"

Katyusha nodded "Feliks is known for making great apple pies!"

Feliks flapped his hand over and smiled. "Oh you're making me blush."

"If it's so good let me have some! I'm starving!"

"Did you totally not hear what we said? You have to save your appetite!"

Alice frowned. "Oh come on! I'm so hungry!"

Katyusha got out of the kitchen and set a plate in front of her along with maple syrup. On it was a stack of pancakes.

"Oh my God! Pancakes?" Alice asked happily.

Katyusha nodded. "Ivan told me you really like them! I hope you'll like mine!"

Alice poured the syrup (no drowned it) onto her pancakes, and took a huge bite of one of them.

"Oh my gog dis ish sho delishoius!" she exclaimed with her mouth full. It was like heaven. They were fluffy and buttery and tasted like cinnamon and powdered sugar. There were the second best pancakes she had ever eaten, the first being her grandmother's and Matthew's secret recipe.

"Thank you!" Katyusha said with a smile "I love cooking so I'm happy that you like my recipe!"

"You should cook for a living! Make a restaurant that only sells pancakes!"

Katyusha laughed "Oh they aren't that good!"

"No way, these are the literal bomb! I could eat these all day!"

Katyusha blushed. "Aw thank you, Alice! You are so sweet!"

Alice shoveled the rest of the pancakes into her mouth in record time and smiled a satisfied smile. She patted her stomach and walked into the kitchen to wash her dishes.

Feliks was running left and right, buzzing like a bee from flower to flower. He was mixing something here, pouring something there, adding spices here, and flipping something over there. Alice's eyes widened.

Katyusha noticed and smiled. "He's very passionate about his cooking, as you can see. I think it's very cute."

Alice nodded. "Hey Feliks, calm down it's not party time yet!"

He stopped in the middle of mixing batter and stared at them. "Huh?"

"Feliks, I can finish up, there's not much left to do except bake the cake and put the ham in the oven."

"Are you sure?" he asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry, besides you were up earlier than me, shopping for ingredients we missed. You are probably tired by now. And we'll have more than enough time to make the rest of the food later."

He chewed on his lip and then shrugged. "Alright I'll hang with Alice."

Alice grinned and high fived him. "Yeah bro! Let's watch some awesome Christmas specials!"

Feliks laughed and they sat down on the couch, with Alice putting her head in his lap as he played with her hair absentmindedly. They watched "Elf" while Katyusha finished cooking. When she was done, Katyusha joined them and they popped some popcorn and watched "How The Grinch Stole Christmas".

Feliks and Alice were singing along to the song in the movie while Katyusha laughed. They all pointed out their favorite characters and scenes in the movie and laughed when funny things happened They ate handfuls of popcorn and flicked the kernels at each other (Katyusha even got it to bounce off of Alice's glasses into Felik's mouth). There ended up being a marathon of cheesy Christmas flicks and they watched "Home Alone 2" before they had to fix the house before guests started coming.

"We should all probably get dressed, the party starts at six." Katyusha said as the movie ended.

Feliks got up "You're right, I'll change into a better shirt."

Alice was the only one who was still sitting on the couch, not bothering to change.

"Come on, Alice." Katyusha said.

"I'll change into a tee shirt later."

Feliks was appalled "You can't wear a tee shirt! This is a classy party Alice! You have to wear a dress or a skirt or at least dome dress pants!"

"What?! I actually have to wear clothes?!"

"YES YOU HAVE TO WEAR CLOTHES!" Feliks yelled at her.

Katyusha shrugged "Just go change, before he bites your head off."

Alice frowned and turned off the TV before dragging her feet towards her room. Feliks followed her inside and sat on her bed.

Alice looked into the closet In her room, looking at potential options. "What are you doing?" she asked as she pulled out a pair of jeans and quickly put them back.

"I'm here to make sure you look good."

"I'll look fine…" she grabbed a plain brown turtleneck Ivan had bought her when they first met.

"There." She said as she laid the turtleneck on the bed near him "Happy?"

He frowned "No I am not! That color will look to boring on you! You are young, not a granny! You totally need a brighter color, maybe red or blue, to bring out your eyes."

He got up and looked into her closet, looking through the small selection of clothing she owned.

"Oh my god you have, like nothing to wear!"

Alice fell face-first onto her bed and sighed. "Well yeah, I don't need much anyway."

Feliks face palmed. "No no no. This will not do at all! Okay, I need to get you a dress, good shoes, and probably do your hair and makeup too and I have only two hours…I'll do it!"

Alice stared at him, too scared to ask exactly how he was going to achieve this.

"Alright, let's do this!" he exclaimed happily.

^ J ^

Since Alice's wardrobe was "unflattering and boring" as Feliks described it, he had to ask Katyusha for any extra clothes.

"I'm sorry guys. I only have one dress for me. I would have packed some if I knew Alice had nothing good to wear."

"Oh well that's too bad, right Feliks, oh well, we tried." Alice said quickly and tried to run away.

Feliks grabbed her before she could make it out of the room. "Not so fast." Alice frowned and tried to run away but was held back tightly by Feliks. "Katyusha, do you know any other places where we can get her some not ugly clothes?"

Katyusha tapped her chin. "I think I have some clothes in here still from when we all used to live together, they would have to be in the other guestroom though. I'll come with you guys, Ivan doesn't really like anyone to go in there, but if I say I was with you, he wouldn't get mad. Besides, I want to see what else I left here."

"Really? Great!" They walked (Alice was dragged) to the end of the hall where there was another bathroom and the other guestroom. They all stood in front of the ominous door, with Feliks and Alice not daring to open it.

"Feliks open it. You're his cousin, he won't get mad" Alice said as she elbowed him towards the door.

"No way! Are you like insane? You open it, you're his wife!"

"You're his blood!"

"So? He didn't _choose_ me to be related, he _chose_ you to marry! That like, counts for something!"

Katyusha shook her head and frowned. She pushed both of them aside and opened the door. "There it's open."

Katyusha walked in first and Alice and Feliks followed behind, their eyes wide in curiosity.

The room was pretty much identical to Alice in the set up. It was simple, with beige walls, wooden floors, and a closet. There wasn't very much in the room, though it was arranged in such a way that it looked more crowded and cramped than it could be with a little moving around.

There was a large wardrobe (that Alice tried to climb in to see if she could go to Narnia, but was held back by Feliks), a bed covered in simple white sheets, a desk with a few very large stacks of papers along with a few books, an empty bookshelf, a small chest that was open and revealed to be full of blankets, and a few empty boxes.

The weird thing was that they were many pictures in there. There were photo albums, loose photos, and framed photographs, some hanging on walls while others were lying on the bed or in one of the boxes and still others were on the floor.

They were all the same general picture. It was a family. Some of the picture showed the family standing outside, another showed two of the children sitting inside; another still showed a little girl playing with a kitten, and another more showed a man and a little boy that couldn't be older than three on his lap. There were all the same though, all the same people in each photo.

Alice felt as if she was intruding. She knew the room was kept closed for a reason, but she thought it was just extra things, not family memories and private photos. Feliks picked up a picture from the desk and smiled sadly. It had two boys in it sitting on the stoop of an apartment, one older than the other who was frowning and had familiar violet eyes while the other had bright green eyes and was laughing. She looked at Katyusha, who was picking up a broken frame, with glass still hanging from it. It was picture of a little girl with long; almost white blond hair wearing a dark blue dress, playing with a little gray kitten. She brushed away the shards and they shattered on the floor.

Katyusha looked at the picture and smiled. "This one was my favorite, she always looked so pretty…" she mumbled to herself. Feliks and Alice looked and each other sadly. Feliks knew about Ivan's and his siter's life, so it was painful for him to watch Katyusha look at the old memories."Oh Ivan…" Katyusha said softly as she brushed the dust off of the glass still hanging to the frame.

Feliks knelt down and patted her on the back. "Katy, you alright?" he asked softly. There was no point in asking, since they both knew the answer, but there was nothing else he could think of doing. Katyusha nodded and got up, being careful not to break the picture any more as she set it back down.

"Let's get what we need and leave, alright?" Katyusha said with forced cheerfulness. Alice and Feliks nodded. They opened the wardrobe looked inside and saw a large array of dresses and skirts. Some were striped, and other had paisley patterns and polka dots, but they were all beautiful. And almost all of them looked to be handmade.

"I used to make dresses in my spare time; I sold some sometimes." Katyusha explained with a small smile. "My sister did as well, though hers never did come out right…" She picked up a pale green one and smiled as she remembered sewing it so many years ago."Ivan said he'd give them to me, but he always has so much to do, that he forgets."

She put it back and looked at Feliks. "You said red, right?" Feliks nodded.

"I made one not very long ago. It was one of my favorites." She searched the wardrobe and pulled out a red dress. It was shorter than most of the others, though not by much. It had a V-neck and was fitted around the middle, though it had a very fluffy bottom filled with tulle. It had a white bow that tied in the back and was purposely made so that when it was tied, it would hang low, almost to the ground.

She presented it to Feliks with a little smile. "I think it was one of my best ones, honestly." Feliks stuck the dress out of her hands slowly, as if it would somehow tear if he wasn't careful.

"It's beautiful Katy." He said softly.

She laughed softly. "Thank you. Is this the one you want then? I have others if you don't like it…"

"No, it's perfect." He looked at Alice who nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you." They both said at the same time.

"Good…Let's go, or you'll never be ready in time." She said, forcing a bright smile. They nodded and turned to leave.

"Are you coming Katy?" Alice asked before they left when she noticed Katyusha didn't follow them.

"I'll be there in a minute…"

Feliks looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but put his arm around Alice's shoulder and left.

Katyusha looked at the room sadly. Her brother had been through a lot, they all had, though he took it the hardest. He had never forgiven himself for his sister or mother's deaths; though Katyusha tried to tell him they weren't his fault. Katyusha still felt sad over their deaths, but she was working towards forgetting it. She didn't want to remember them for their deaths; she wanted to remember them for their lives.

Whereas Ivan felt sadness thinking about them, Katyusha felt happiness when she remembered the good times they had. Though it would always hurt, and the pain would never really stop, she focused on good memories to think of.

She picked up the picture from the floor of their sister and put it in the wardrobe. She grabbed another and put it in the wardrobe as well. As she grabbed each one she remembered the memories that went along with each. Like when Feliks and Ivan had popsicles on the stoop of their apartment, or how Natalia had raised the kitten all on her own, or how their mother was knitting a scarf in the background of the picture of Ivan on their father's lap. Katyusha ended up putting all of them in the wardrobe.

She dusted the room with a piece of cloth that was on the floor until it was almost spotless, and picked up all the shards of broken glass and threw them away in a little bin near the bed. She fixed the sheets on the bed and fluffed up the pillows, making sure to dust them off as well. Katyusha looked at the desk and frowned. She gathered all the books and put them away neatly in the bookshelf.

After she was done, she stood back and looked at her handiwork. The room looked fresh and clean, it could be used again even though it was still a little messy. It had a few pieces of broken glass here and there that she couldn't gather; but someone else would have to do that. The room wasn't perfect and it was still a little dirty, but she figured that it would get cleaner over time.

She glanced at the wardrobe that was still open and smiled a little. She walked over to it and closed the wardrobe softly. The pictures would be there when he needed them, but they weren't locked away. They were there, ready to be seen and viewed. They were happy pictures, sad pictures, and funny pictures and they would always be there whenever Ivan felt like he needed them.

She walked towards the door and glanced at the wardrobe and the room before smiling one last time and closing the door.

^ J ^

Ivan came about an hour later; a little annoyed at the idea of a party, but was instantly happier when he saw his sister.

He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"How are you?"

She laughed. "You ask that every time you see me. You worry too much."

He frowned. "I have a right to worry, you're my sister."

She kissed him on the cheek "I'm fine Ivan."

He smiled. "Good."

He took off his jacket and hang it on the hooks near the door. "Where are Alice and Feliks?"

She smiled "You know how Feliks is; he's making sure Alice looks her best for the party. I swear he thinks she is some sort of Barbie doll." She finished off the sentence with a little giggle.

"I hope I can still recognize her when he's done with her…" Ivan mumbled to himself.

"Did you see the decorations we set up?" she asked as she pointed to the garland and sparkly snowflakes that hung from the chandelier in the foyer. "It was a pain getting them up there, Alice fell and almost hurt herself, luckily Feliks caught her."

Ivan shook her head. "She is going to get herself hurt badly one day if she keeps acting like this."

Katyusha laughed and started walking into the hallway to the living room.

"Where is everyone else?" Katyusha asked.

"Francis and Arthur are coming in a little while; they had to drive back to Francis' apartment first for whatever reason." He followed her into the living room and sat on the couch. "Toris, Ravis, and Eduard will be here soon, they went to buy wine or something. And Yao is coming a little later, he had to go home to check on his brothers and sister."

"Oh, okay then. I'll just start cooking the food we didn't make earlier while the guests come."

^ J ^

MINUTES EARLIER BUT NOT MANY…

(IVAN'S POV)

Francis entered through the front door dressed in a dark blue suit paired with a black shirt and a lighter blue tie. Arthur was dressed similarly, though his suit was a dark brown.

"Bonjour everybody!" he announced when he came through the front doors. Arthur rolled his eyes and followed him.

"Francis! Great now everyone is here!" said Katyusha happily. She hugged him and kissed Arthur on the cheek.

"Nice to see you too, Katyusha." Replied Francis "You look beautiful as always." He said sweetly. Katyusha blushed and she smiled. She did look beautiful, dressed in a purple dress that reached her knees. It was fitted around the legs and had long sleeves that showed off a bit of her shoulders. Her hair was styled nicely, parted to the left so it framed her face well. Paired with simple black pumps and a almost indistinguishable pale lipstick, she looked like a million bucks.

"Oh…" Arthur passed a bottle of wine to Katyusha "here." Katyusha looked at the bottle and smiled.

"Thank you both! I'm going to go put this away and check on the food. Go talk, it will be ready soon." She walked away happily; her cheeks still a little pink from the compliment.

"Why do you always flirt with the boss' sister? You're just asking to be killed." Arthur said as he shook his head.

"What can I do, Arthur? She is a pretty woman!" he said with a laugh. He put his arm around Arthur and they walked towards the other guests who were all talking pleasantly. Arthur left to talk with Eduard and Francis headed to Ivan and Yao, who seemed to be discussing politics.

"Oh hello Francis!" Yao said as he noticed Francis walking towards them. Francis smiled and stood by them.

"So, what are you two talking about?" he asked as he took a glass of champagne that was on one of the two small tables near the door. He sipped it slowly, watching Yao and Ivan over the rim of the glass.

"Gun control laws and our positions on the matter." Ivan replied after he took a sip from his own glass.

Francis sighed. "That's a bit of a grim topic, isn't it?" he patted Yao on the back and almost made him spit up his champagne in the process "We should be talking about happy things! It's almost Christmas!"

Yao nodded "Alright then, what do you want to talk about?"

"I heard that the movie Les Miserables just came out. I've been meaning to see it."

"I heard it was received well by the critics." Ivan responded.

Yao nodded "They say it's going to be a huge hit, I'd like to see it as well. My little sister and brother want to see it; maybe I will go with them."

"I bet Alice would like it," Francis continued. He frowned and looked around the room. "Where is she anyway?"

Ivan frowned. "Felkis is doing her hair."

Francis laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Ivan replied.

"Ivan thinks Feliks will make her look different with all the makeup." Yao chimed in.

"Yao!" Ivan exclaimed.

"Oh? So that's what that was all about!" Francis said cheerfully. "As long as he doesn't go overboard, I can't see how he could make her look bad. Alice is very pretty, right Ivan?"

Ivan nodded.

Just then Alice walked through the hallway, followed by Feliks who was grinning proudly at his masterpiece.

Her hair had been done in its usual loose curls (Alice threatened to kill him if he tried to brush her hair) and she was wearing just a bit of makeup, since like Ivan, Feliks believed ladies looked better if they were fairly natural. She had a bit of blush and red lipstick that matched her dress perfectly. The dress looked great on her, and paired with a pair of heels Katyusha was wearing previously, she looked just as beautiful as Katyusha.

She stumbled a little in the heels (they were the highest heels she'd ever worn) but she made her way over to Ivan, Yao, and Francis without falling. Feliks was about to brag about Alice's makeover but left when he saw Toris talking with Eduard.

"Hey guys." Alice said with a grin.

Francis looked her up and down and smiled. "Well you look beautiful."

Yao nodded "Feliks is pretty good at what he does."

"So what'cha think Ivan? The heels aren't really my thing, but everything else is pretty nice."

Ivan sipped on his champagne slowly. "You look good." He turned back to Yao "So, about the movie…"

"Oh, thanks," she said, somewhat disappointed.

Francis looked at her and put his arm around her and they let Ivan and Yao have their own conversation. "It's okay, dear. You know how he is."

Alice shrugged. "I guess," she chewed on her lip "I just thought he'd say something."

"That's how Ivan is. But who cares? You look amazing, regardless of what he says. Just look at how everyone is looking at you, that is proof enough."

She smiled when she saw a few people admire her. She turned back to Francis and grinned. "You're right. Now let me have some." She said, referring to the champagne.

"Alice, no." Ivan said. "You remember what happened _last time_ you drank champagne, right?"

Alice frowned and she nodded. "Fine…I only wanted a little though."

Ivan sighed. He handed her his half full glass. "Here, have mine. But do not have anymore, alright?"

Alice waved him off. "Sure, I'm not Arthur."

Francis' eyes widened "Oh my God, Arthur! I knew I shouldn't have left him alone with the alcohol!" he ran away to find Arthur, who was probably already drunk and insulting people by now.

Ivan, Alice, and Yao looked at each other knowingly. Arthur was known for not being able to hold his liquor.

"So, Alice," Yao said happily "what do you think of the movie-"

"Yao! Yao! Yao!" a teenage Asian boy with an odd curl ran up to them and grabbed Yao's arm.

"What's wrong?" Yao asked.

"Arthur is hitting on Mei! And I'm pretty sure she's going to hurt him!" he said hurriedly and pointed to a girl in a short light pink dress who was pushing Arthur away.

"Im Yong Soo! I told you to stay home! Why did you follow me?! I told you, only Mei could come!"

"But I didn't want to stay with Kauru! He's no fun!"

"Don't say that about your brother!" his eyes widened as he heard a stinging slap "Oh my God! Mei, no don't hit him!" he yelled as he grabbed his brother and ran towards her.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Im Yong Soo!" the boy called as he was pulled away. He waved to Alice and Ivan who just stared at him in surprise.

"That was…weird…." Alice said slowly.

Ivan nodded. "He is a weird boy."

Alice sipped on the glass of champagne Ivan gave to her and looked at him over the rim of the glass.

"So," she said when she swallowed "what do you wanna do? I love parties, but this one's a bit too fancy for my taste."

Ivan looked around the foyer to see if Katyusha was there. She was still in the kitchen and Feliks was laughing with Toris. Francis and Yao were yelling at Arthur and Eduard was scolding Ravis for whatever reason.

"Um…" he mumbled under his breath. No matter how many times he held a party, it always ended up like this.

"Fuck it. We're dancing." Alice chugged down the rest of her drink, slammed it down on one of the two tables near the door and grabbed Ivan's hand.

"Alice, are you alright?"

"Fine, I'm just a little tired of beating around the bush, aren't you?"

"W-what?" Ivan stuttered to get out.

_Is she going to say what I think she is going to say?_

"I can tell that you want to dance, duh! What did you think I meant, Ivan?"

He sighed in relief. "Nothing. Let's dance."

Alice shrugged and let go of his hand. Since it wasn't a slow song playing, she didn't mind dancing with him, actually, she liked it. It was much easier to have fun when someone wasn't so close to you. She danced at a moderate speed, moving her hips in time to the beat and nodding her head slowly to the rhythm. When it came to any dancing that wasn't slow, Alice was great.

Ivan on the other hand, had as much rhythm as a dead person. He couldn't move right, it always seemed he was either dancing too fast or too slowly or not at all. Alice laughed as she did a sort of body roll and watched Ivan bite down on his lip and stop dancing.

"What's the problem, Ivan?" she asked happily. "Is it that you can't dance, cause you're pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie."

"No, you just dance well so I look even worse."

She shrugged "Whatever floats your boat, bro." she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her "You know, it's not that hard."

"What?" Ivan asked he backed away a little from her, though Alice didn't seem to notice.

"Dancing. Damn Ivan, you're acting slower than me when I first wake up!" she laughed.

"You danced so well when we were…you know."

"Married."

"Don't say that. It's weird….but yeah. Why can't you dance now?"

"That is easier; there are only a specific number of moves you can do, the music is slower and easier to keep time to….this is harder."

"Here," she let go of his hand and started swaying a little, slowly so he could see. "It's easy; you just move your hips basically." He didn't make any attempt to move.

Alice sighed as she bent down and put her hands on his hips. "Just, move." She said as she pushed on his hips, making him move side to side.

"That is embarrassing, stop." Ivan said softly. He pushed her hands away.

"But you almost had it! You just needed some shoulder action, maybe a little bit of some head bobbing and you would've been all good!"

Ivan shook his head "I think I will just watch you dance."

Alice frowned "That's kinda creepy." She paused for a minute "I'm kinda hungry… and since you obviously aren't going to dance, wanna see if the food's ready?"

"Sure."

"I will get you to dance one day."

Ivan laughed "Not today."

^ J ^

The rest of the night went off without a hitch (minus Arthur getting drunk and Feliks and Yao getting into a fight about cooking a particular type of meat). Everyone loved the food Feliks and Katyusha made, and most had seconds (and thirds in Alice's case). By the time everyone had eaten, it was almost 9:00, so everyone spent the rest of the time drinking, socializing, or dancing which is what Alice did the whole time….

Alice was dancing with Yao, Arthur, and Francis (who were pretty good dancers) and talking at the same time. Though Arthur was still pretty wasted, he was a better dancer than Ivan was, which made them all laugh.

"So," Alice said as she flipped her hair and smiled "what did you guys get each other for Christmas?"

Yao laughed "We can't tell you that! Technically, it's not Christmas until 12:00"

Arthur put his finger on Francis' lips and pushed his face away "Shhh….Francey-pants….shh."

"I wasn't even talking!"

"I said shush!" He grinned at Alice "why don't we come back to my place and we'll see what presents I got for you... (I'm implying that I'd like to have sex with you)."

"I kinda got that."

"So whatcha think, love?" he smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Alice just laughed "Arthur, you're drunk."

"And you're sexy."

"Let's just stick to dancing…'love'" she added, imitating Arthur.

"Haha! You're so cute when you say love!"

"When I'm legal, I think we should go out for a drink or two, it'd be fun. You're a pretty good time"

"I'd be honored." He said as he bowed and did a sort of flourish with his hand. "You too, dear. And I can give good times too, if you know what I mean." He leaned in closer and whispered (loudly) into her ear "I mean that I'm good at sex."

Alice laughed and was about to answer when Ivan came over.

"Oh hey boss." Yao said.

"Yeah. Boss. Heyyyy…." Arthur dragged out the last bit of his sentence and smiled. He poked Ivan's face.

"Why do you always have to get drunk….?" Ivan wondered out loud as he batted his hands away.

"I can't hold my liquor, obviously."

"That's the truest thing you've said all night." Yao replied.

Feliks ran over to the group with a somewhat creepy looking smile on his face.

"Hey Feliks!" Alice said happily "Where have you been? I felt like I haven't seen you all night."

"That's because you haven't."

Alice laughed "Oh yeah, that's true. But what were you doing?"

"Seeing who'd kiss who under the mistletoe. This year I got some pretty hilarious photos."

"You take photos?" Alice said with a laugh.

"Duh, blackmail." Feliks grinned.

"Smart."

Ivan frowned "So why aren't you taking more weird photos and tricking people?"

"Because I've found my new target."

"Hell yeah!" Alice exclaimed "Who's the unlucky fucker?"

Feliks just laughed and pointed upwards. Alice's eyes widened and she followed where his finger was pointing until she saw a small spring of leaves with red berried hanging above her and Arthur.

"Oh…." Alice said slowly.

"Oh indeed." Arthur said.

"Feliks leave her alone. If she does not want to, she does not have to kiss anyone." Ivan said protectively.

"No it's fine, it's only mistletoe anyway. It's not like we chose to on purpose."

"Really?" Ivan asked, a little disappointed.

"Yeah, if it's cool with you, then I don't mind."

"Is it cool with you, Ivan?" Francis asked slowly. He frowned at Ivan and Ivan looked back.

"Fine with me." he looked into the small crowd and spotted Katyusha "I'm going to go talk to my sister…" he nodded at Alice before he left.

Alice shrugged and leaned in to kiss Arthur. She was only going to give him a small peck on the lips but he ended up kissing her before she could even reach him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed softly. It was a pretty good kiss (despite only having experience with one other man, who was also drunk, mind you) and it sent a little shiver down her spine. It was simple and….gentlemanly? That was the only way she could describe it. It felt gentlemanly.

He pulled away before her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Huh." She said slowly.

"Huh?"

"Huh…you're a pretty good kisser."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to go find Ivan now…It was nice, kissing you, I guess?" she called before she walked quickly over to where Ivan was.

Arthur laughed. "And that my friend is how you get all the ladies."

Francis rolled his eyes and pushed him onto the floor. "Whoops."

^ J ^

"That was a good party…." Alice said and yawned.

"It was alright. I have never really liked parties." Ivan answered. He picked up a few dishes and put them into the sink. Alice picked up a few pieces of broken glass (courtesy of Arthur Kirkland) and threw them in the trash.

"Damn…I'm tired." Alice said.

"Then we should sleep."

"Yeah, come on Ivan…" she said and yawned again. She took his hand and dragged him towards Ivan's (well technically their though Alice didn't like to call it that) bedroom.

She jumped into bed and snuggled under the covers happily.

"You have to change." Ivan said tiredly.

"I don't wanna."

"You are still wearing makeup."

Alice groaned and got out of bed, coming back a few minutes later with a slightly damp face with no makeup and wearing a large tee shirt and pajama pants.

"Now I want to sleep." She said as she fell into bed and closed her eyes.

Ivan laughed and got into bed as well.

"Oh wait," Alice said before she sat up and leaned over Ivan. He frowned "What are you doing?"

She moved closer and pressed her lips against his. Ivan's eyes widened in surprise, but he smiled against her lips and kissed back. Before he could even get into the kiss, though, Alice pulled away.

"What was that?" Ivan asked, a little annoyed that he didn't even get to kiss back much.

"Merry Christmas." She said simply.

HERE'S YOUR CHAPTER!

*ANGRILY WALKS AWAY*


	20. The Day After

Hey guys what's up? Not much for me to say in this thingie I always do. Oh, well I got a cosplay and I am super excited! I am going to cosplay as fem Prussia! It's gonna be wicked awesome! I am so excited! I still have a lot to buy though, so I will be saving up (thankfully it's only a month till my birthday!). Anyway, sorry for not updating as planned, I'm not neglecting the story, (truly) I just have had a bit of trouble in school so I have not been having a lot of time to type, I could only do a little every day before I had to sleep or something…so again, sorry.

WARNING: This chapter (and probably the next few will be fillers! XD)

Have fun reading!~

Ivan got up the next day early, before the sun was even up. He was happy about this, because right now, he was hung over from the party he had thrown last night. He didn't remember half of it frankly, and the half that he did remember was embarrassing to say the least. At one point, he was sure that Alice had kissed Arthur, but he wasn't sure. He did remember, however, that she had kissed him. He smiled a little at the memory and sighed.

He rubbed his eyes and started to get off of the bed before feeling another next to him.

_Right, Alice…_

He turned over and stared at the new position they were in, since, as always they had somehow snuggled together in their sleep. Ivan was in a relatively normal position; he had woken up in the same spot he went to bed in, while Alice on the other hand, looked as if she had had a seizure in her sleep. He was holding her as she kneed him in the stomach. Ivan was used to snuggling close to anything, that's why he always used three pillows; two for his head and one for holding while he slept. He was not used to being kicked while he slept, and he didn't want to get used to it, frankly.

He frowned as he pushed her knee away from his stomach area and poked her head away from his neck, where she was resting peacefully. He recoiled as he felt something wet on his neck and backed away from her quickly. He felt his neck and grimaced as he saw that it was drool.

_She drools in her sleep. Of course she does._

Alice did a sort of stretching, shuddering motion as she rolled over to face the other side of the room. Ivan wiped the drool from his neck with his sleeve and glared at her sleeping figure as she took all the covers and pillows and started snoring loudly.

He rubbed his face and got up from the bed slowly, not that the motion would wake her up. She could probably sleep through a fire, two earthquakes, and fifty crying babies without stirring the least bit. He walked through the hall, into the kitchen and was surprised to see his sister in her baby blue silk pajamas flipping through a magazine and making herself a cup of coffee.

"Katyusha!" he exclaimed in surprise "What are you doing up so early?"

She looked up from her magazine, shrugged and checked on her coffee on the stove "I couldn't sleep, not with having such a bad headache."

Ivan frowned "How much did you drink last night?"

She laughed a little "Enough to start flirting with Francis."

"Katyusha you shouldn't drink so much, you just got out of the hospital!"

"That is exactly why I should," she replied."I could go back to the hospital at any time, so I want to be happy while I am out. Besides, it was a holiday."

Ivan sighed "Don't think so negatively, you are getting better, I know it."

Katyusha rubbed her head "Fine, fine. It's too early to argue anyway."

She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Oh, I almost forgot." He kissed her on the cheek "Merry Christmas."

She looked at the coffee, and noticed steam coming out from the tip of the pot. She took the coffee pot off of the stove and poured the warm brown mixture into a mug. "Do you want me to make you some?"

Ivan shook his head and walked to the living room, where he laid down on the couch. "No, I feel sick enough as it is."

She followed him into the living room, carrying the mug carefully, as to not spill anything. She sat down on the small armchair next to him and took a sip of her coffee. "I told you to not drink so much, Vanya, you have a problem with liquor."

He waved her off and ran a hand through his messy hair "I'll be fine. I just hope Alice is alright."

Katyusha sipped on her coffee slowly. "She'll be fine, you should give her a bit more credit." she giggled "Did you see her last night? She really is a great dancer! I danced with her a few times, and I was out of breath. But she didn't even break a sweat! I don't think she stopped the whole night."

"She is a good dancer…" he agreed.

"Not like you." Katyusha teased. "Anyway, I saw how you were looking at her last night. It was very sweet."

"Really?" he said slowly and turned his head to look at her "How did I look?"

"Like you were in love."

Ivan frowned. "Oh." This was not good. He knew he had been getting to close to her, and it was really making him nervous. There was a reason he hardly had any real relationships, and he liked to keep it that way. Being relatively alone was easier. Keeping people at a distance was a must, and though he didn't want to, he knew that he had to fix what he was doing.

"Don't be embarrassed, it was really nice."

"How did she look?" he asked warily.

If she had feelings for him, then there would really be a problem. He didn't want to know; for fear of Katyusha confirming what he hoped wasn't true. But he had to know, just to be sure. If she didn't it would be easy to forget about her (well not exactly easy, but it would be doable). If she did though, there would be a bit more of a problem. But either way, ti wasn't like Ivan could do anything about it…

Katyusha smiled sweetly "She looked-"

A loud sound, as if something heavy was thrown was heard, coming from the other room, down the hall. It almost made Katyusha drop her coffee, which she held with a shaky hand. Ivan sat up quickly, and stared into the hallway, to see what was making the sound. He sighed as he realized it was Alice, since it was unlikely Feliks would be up at this hour (he was a very late sleeper).

"What was that?" Katyusha asked, still surprised by the sudden noise.

"Alice." Ivan said, not really answering her, but thinking out loud.

Katyusha and Ivan turned their heads as they heard a door open, running, and the floor creaking as the running came closer. Ivan and Katyusha looked at each other with wide blue eyes staring into bright violet ones as Alice ran through the hall and into the living room.

She stood in the middle of the room, grinning happily, her hair a mess and her glasses askew on her face, with her grey tee shirt slipping off of her shoulder and her baggy rainbow pajama pants dragging along the floor.

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" she announced, with a flourish of her hands as she threw them up in the air. She looked at the both of them for a response. Ivan was frowning, and rubbed his forehead as he mumbled something about a headache. Katyusha was smiling at her warmly.

"Katy! It's Christmas!" she repeated and jumped up and down a little.

"It is! Merry Christmas, Alice!" she exclaimed happily and got up to kiss her on the forehead.

Alice kissed her on the cheek and turned around. She smiled at Ivan and pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose.

"Ivan, it's Christmas!"

"I think we established that already." He grumbled under his breath.

Alice frowned and turned back to Katyusha. "What's wrong with him?"

Katyusha rolled her eyes "He's being grumpy. Don't worry about him, he'll get over it." She patted her on the shoulder and led her away "Anyway, merry Christmas, dear. We should be opening presents!"

Katyusha led her away from the living room and Ivan, who was lying on the couch, with his hands over his eyes. They walked Alice stared, wide-eyed at the pile of Christmas presents under the tree.

"Wow." She said softly "That is a lot of presents."

Katyusha sat down and nodded. "It took a while, but I think I got everyone what they wanted, including you, hopefully." She picked up a medium sized box, wrapped with blue wrapping paper that had ice-skating penguins on it. She held it out to Alice.

Alice sat down next to her and took the present, grinning at it, then at her, before hugging the older woman tightly.

"Thank you Katy! You're the best!"

Katyusha patted her on the head as she struggled to breathe in her embrace. "It's fine, I didn't know what you wanted though…I hope you'll like it."

Alice let go and looked at the present once more. She turned her head, looking down the hall that led to the living room.

"Hey, Ivan!" Alice turned around and yelled "Get over here; we can't open presents without you!"

He walked into the room a minute later, with a glass of water and aspirin in his hand. He put the pills in his mouth and downed the glass of water in one gulp. He walked over to Alice and his sister, and leaned against the wall near the tree, watching them.

"Nope." Alice said to him "You have to sit down too." She patted the space on the floor next to her.

"Come on, Ivan." She called happily.

He sighed and sat down next to her, placing the glass of water next to him.

"Merry Christmas, Alice."

"Merry Christmas, Ivan!"

Alice looked at the gift in her hands and back up at Katyusha.

"Go on, open it. I want to see if you'll like it." Katyusha urged Alice gently.

Alice grinned and ripped the wrapping paper away from the box, throwing it on the ground. She opened the box and looked a set of neatly folded, olive green clothing. She picked up the first article of clothing, a skirt. She looked Ivan, who forced a smile. She picked out the other green piece of clothing, a matching button up shirt. She smiled at it and laid it down, along with the skirt.

"Wow, thanks, Katy!" Alice said happily.

"Well that isn't the real present; it's just something I thought you'd like." She paused and looked at her hopefully "Do you like it?"

Alice nodded and hugged her "Of course I do! It's an awesome present, Katy!"

"Great! I was so scared that you wouldn't! I was thinking…" she said slowly "I know you're not very girly, but I thought we could maybe go shopping together and get our hair done? I mean we don't have to if you don't want to, we could always-"

"No way! I want to hang out with you!" Alice exclaimed "It sounds like fun! Besides, I could go for getting my hair done; it's kind of a mess."

"Great! We can go tomorrow, if you like. I know you'll have nothing to do, and neither will I."

"Awesome! It's gonna be so much fun to hang with you! It can be a girl's day out!"

Katyusha smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, Ivan," she said happily as she picked up a red and white package that had small, sparkly snowflakes printed on it. She handed it to Ivan.

"Oh! Open it, open it!" Alice chanted happily.

"Alright, alright." Ivan said and patted her on the head "Calm down."

He tore away the wrapping paper, and placed it on the floor in a neat pile next to him. He opened the white box, ripping off the small piece of tape that kept it closed. Inside of the box was a beige sweater with a darker brown hem on the sleeves and neck. On the bottom was a small border of sunflowers and green leaves.

"Oh! Sunflowers!" Alice exclaimed "Did you make that, Katy?"

Katyusha nodded."So, what do you think?" she asked happily "It took me so long to knit it, I hope you like it!"

"Of course I like it," he replied with a soft smile. "I needed a new sweater anyway and you are the best at making clothes."

"Great! I am so happy both of you like your presents!"

"Hey, where's Feliks? He should open his presents too!" Alice said with a frown.

"Asleep probably." Ivan replied "He has always been a heavy sleeper."

"Well he can't just miss Christmas!" she got up "Wait here guys, I got this!"

"There is no point, Alice. He will be asleep. And once he's asleep, he's hard to wake up." Ivan warned her.

"Don't worry!" she called as she ran away, into the hallway.

Katyusha laughed a little "Well she is something."

"Da, 'something' is right." He said as he shook his head.

"I might as well give your present since it may take Alice a while to get Feliks to wake up." He crouched down and searched under the tree, feeling around as prickly pine needles pinched his skin.

"Hmmm….Oh, here." He grabbed a box with a green bow on it, wrapped with plain red paper. He handed her the box and smiled.

"I hope you'll like mine as well."

"Of course I will, you gave it to me, how can it be bad?"

She peeled away the paper and placed it neatly in a pile as Ivan had done moments before. She opened a white box and smiled at her present.

She picked up the soft baby blue cashmere sweater and held it out. It was very cute, with small, shiny white buttons that went down the front. It had a small sunflower sewn on the left pocket.

"How did you remember that I wanted this? I said that so long ago!"

"I always make sure to remember what you tell me, you are my sister."

"Oh, Ivan." She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek "I love you."

"I love you too, Katyusha." He smiled "It is funny how we both got each other sweaters…"

She laughed. "We are too close, Ivan." She said with a smile "Only siblings would both get each other sunflower sweaters."

"You didn't see the other gift?" Ivan asked.

"What? You got me two?"

Ivan nodded "The sweater was too small a gift." He pulled out a small white box and handed it to her.

She smiled and opened it. Her eyes widened when she saw a pair of diamond studs laying in the bottom of the box.

"Oh my God, Ivan. They are beautiful!"

"You like them?"

"I love them!" She kissed him on the cheek "You always give the best gifts!"

Ivan smiled "Whatever makes you happy, I will buy."

Alice walked back into the room, dragging a half asleep Feliks along. He looked even more of a mess than Alice was in the morning. His shirt was buttoned wrong and was falling off of his shoulder and his hair was a mess. His eyes were only half open and he was teetering as he was still half asleep.

"I woke him up!" Alice exclaimed proudly as she pulled Feliks along.

"Impressive…" Katyusha said in awe "Maybe he's so tired that he's not going to hit her…"

"I don't know," Ivan replied softly "he hit Toris once for waking him up and he could not get up for an hour. He was knocked unconscious…"

Alice sat down next to Ivan and watched Feliks walk slowly towards them and drag his feet the whole way. He walked over to Katyusha and Ivan and kissed them both on the heads. He looked at Alice and hit her on the back of the head.

"Ow! What the fuck?!" Alice exclaimed. She glared at Feliks and flipped him off.

"You were right…" Katyusha said to Ivan. Ivan nodded and sighed.

"Unfortunately, I know him too well…"

"Don't wake me up…ever…" he grumbled under his breath. "Merry Christmas…"

He plopped down next to Alice and yawned. "I want to open a present."

Katyusha grinned "Oh! Me first!" She reached under the tree and pulled out a small, plain white box with a blue bow stuck on top of it. She grinned and handed it to him "Here you go! Merry Christmas!"

Feliks nodded and tore open the package, throwing the bow behind him absent mindedly. He opened the box and grinned instantly when he saw what she had gotten him.

"A new camera!" he grinned "How did you know?!"

"You called me everyday telling me how you broke your camera."

"Aw, that is so sweet, Katy! I am so surprised!"

"You threatened to kill me if I didn't get you a camera."

"You're ruining the moment, Katy." He said with a frown.

"Well, you're welcome." She said with a smile "Merry Christmas!"

Ivan passed him a small unwrapped black box that had a bow hastily stuck to it.

"Wonder what this could be…?" Feliks asked with a smile. "So mysterious!"

"Oh, what is it, Ivan?" Katyusha asked.

"What a secret!" Feliks exclaimed, with a faux look of shock on his face.

"Wow! It looks expensive!" Katyusha added.

"I know right!" Feliks agreed.

"Just open it already!" Alice called.

The three stared at her.

"What?" she shrugged "You're taking too long."

"She is right; open it already before Christmas passes." Ivan agreed.

"All of you have to ruin the mood…" he grumbled under his breath. He opened the box and grinned when he pulled out a golden Rolex. His eyes widened at the expensive gold watch that had a green face. It was one of the newer ones and it was not very large, since Feliks was a smaller man, but it was very stylish.

"Oh my God, Ivan! This is so amazing…" he picked up the watch and put it on his wrist. He stretched his arm out and checked out how he looked.

"Damn! That watch is expensive looking!" Alice called out. She whistled "Must've cost a lot."

Ivan shrugged "It's Christmas, it does not matter how much you spend."

"Ivan you always give the best gifts!" He got up and hugged him "You are the best cousin ever!"

"I am here too, Feliks." Katyusha said with a chuckle.

Ivan laughed and hugged him back "It's Christmas, of course I would get you a nice gift."

Feliks pulled away from him and jumped up and down as he remembered that he hadn't given his gifts yet.

"Oh! Let me give all of you guys your presents!" he exclaimed and crawled under the tree to get three boxes, one large wrapped with red striped paper and an absurd amount of tape and the other two small ones with blue polka dotted paper wrapped around them messily.

Ivan looked at his present and raised an eyebrow at the amount of tape wrapped around it

"Yeah, I'm not a wrapper…" Feliks said sheepishly. "But the presents are still good!"

"Yeah, mine doesn't look too bad…" Katyusha said, trying to hold back a laugh.

"It's fine, Feliks!" Alice assured him. "It doesn't matter how it looks, it's the thought that counts, right?" She started to open hers, and after about a foot of tape, she finally made it to the actual present.

"Oh wow Feliks! This is totally awesome! How did you know that I wanted the Avengers movie?"

"It's kinda obvious…Have you seen your clothes? Half of them are super hero related…"

"But this is a hat from Adventure Time!" Alice exclaimed as she tried on the white hat and snapped the button to close it under her chin.

"It is? I just thought it was cute…Oh well, sure then, Adventure Time, whatever." Feliks replied.

"Now you two," he pointed at his cousins "open yours, I wanna see your faces when you see how rad my presents are!"

Katyusha and Ivan opened their presents at the same time and they both smiled at their gifts.

"Oh, wow, Feliks." Ivan said in awe. He pulled out a new suit and nodded in approval.

"Thought you'd like it," he said smugly "You needed some color in your wardrobe anyway. I thought the dark red on the jacket would look nice on you."

"Thanks for mine too, Feliks!" Katyusha squealed in delight. She held up a necklace with a small diamond pendant in the shape of a heart. "This will go great with my earrings!"

"No problem, you two." He waved his hand absent mindedly "It was nothing."

"Hey Feliks!" Alice exclaimed with a grin "Let's show the other present we got for Ivan!"

"Haha! Oh you will love this one, Ivan."

Ivan raised an eyebrow doubtfully "What did you two get me?"

"I'll give it to him!" Alice said happily. She got up and walked behind the tree and crouched down to reach for a simple red box. She dusted herself up as she got up and walked back over to the group.

"Here you go, Ivan. This is Feliks' other gift, but _I _picked it out!" she pointed to herself as she said this and grinned at him with her bright smile.

"I am not sure about this…" Katyusha said slowly.

"No, it's a good gift." Feliks assured them. He and Alice held back laughs as they glanced at each other knowingly.

Ivan looked at them suspiciously and started opening his present. He frowned at his gift and then glared at the both of them.

"What is it?" Katyusha asked as she strained and sat up to see it.

"Show her, Ivan!" Alice said in between laughs.

He pulled out a red, see-through nightie that had a white fur on the edges of the bra part. The matching red panties had a bright red, sparkly bow on the back of them.

"Sexy santa!" Alice called as she and Feliks laughed. Katyusha laughed along with them, especially at Ivan's expression on his face.

"When did you get this?" Katyusha asked in between laughs.

"When we went shopping for food, Alice told me about the 'sexy santa' outfit. It was too good to pass up on so we walked to a department store to see if they had one that looked like it."

"Turns out they had the real one!" Alice interjected.

Ivan stared at his present "I can't say that I did not expect this, but I am still a little confused."

"You should wear it." Feliks suggested.

"I don't think that will solve anything." Ivan said as he glared at him.

"No it won't but it'll still be funny." Feliks replied.

"Yeah! Wear it, Ivan!" Alice urged him on.

"I would break it. That is for a woman, a significantly smaller woman."

"Try it at least." Katyusha teased "I bet you'd look nice!"

"See, even Katy says you should do it!" Alice exclaimed. "Now you _have _to!"

"No. I don't even know what to do with this." He placed the nightie back in the box.

"I have to take a picture of this, lemme get some batteries!" Feliks got up and came back a minute later, still grinning and waving his camera around. "Alright guys, move in together!"

Alice put her arms around Katyusha and Ivan and grinned while Katyusha smiled as well. Ivan was still staring at his present.

"SAY CHEESE!"

^ J ^

Feliks, Ivan, Katyusha, and Alice were sitting on the couch looking at the photos in the camera. Feliks lay on top of Katyusha's lap; resting his head on Ivan's legs while Katyusha had her arm around Ivan's shoulder. Ivan was seating near his sister, with his cousin partly on top of him. Alice was sitting in between the two siblings, with Feliks lying on her lap as well.

"This one's a good picture." Alice said as she flicked through the pictures. "You should print this one out."

She pointed to a picture in the camera of Ivan and his 'sexy santa' present. Feliks was in the background, grinning and giving a thumbs up while Katyusha smiled and waved.

"I just wish I could have gotten you guys presents…" Alice said sadly.

"You did, duh Alice." Feliks said without looking at her.

Alice frowned "What?"

"All the gifts were from you and Ivan, that's what the tags said." Feliks explained "I mean you wrapped them, you should know…"

Katyusha nodded "Yes, Ivan told me you picked out all of them yourself. I thought it was his idea for the gifts, but it was you all along! You are really good at picking gifts!"

"Yeah, what you were too modest to tell me?" Feliks asked "I wanted to know!"

"You would have wanted her to tell you the gift before Christmas!" Katyusha exclaimed.

"So?"

"That ruins the surprise!"

"No, I could just act surprised! I'm a good actor!"

"That is not how Christmas works!"

"I could make it work!"

Alice looked at Ivan in confusion. She frowned at him and he shrugged as if saying 'I don't care who they think go the presents'. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

^ J ^

"You know," Alice said as she got into bed with Ivan "You never got me a present."

"Yes I did."

"What?" she shook her head "No, I was just kidding, I don't need a present."

"Alright, I will take it back then."

"No! You can't do that now! You already said it; you can't take it back now! That's like making a chocolate cake, showing it to me, and then putting it on the highest shelf in the kitchen! It's cruel and unusual punishment!"

Ivan chuckled "Fine, I was going to make it more of a surprise, but since you cannot wait, I will show it to you now."

He got up and went to the closet in the room. He pulled out a brown bomber jacket similar to the one that she currently owned, but this one had a star on the left side and brown fur on the collar.

"You always look so cold in your jacket; I thought you would like this one…." He sat back down on the bed and handed it to her "See? It is warmer on the inside, so you can wear it anytime you want to. And the back has a fifty, I'm not sure what that is for, but I thought you'd like it…"

Alice's eyes widened. "Wow, Ivan…this is really sweet of you…"

"I just felt bad since you looked cold…and you always say how cold it is in here, so maybe this will help?"

She rubbed the fur on the inside and smiled "It feels awesome!"

Ivan smiled. "I am happy that you like it! Try it on."

She got up and slipped the jacket on, zipping it up. She smiled and shoved her hands into her pockets of the jacket. "Does it look nice on me?"

Ivan smiled. "It looks perfect on you."

"It is so warm!"

"If you ever get lost in the snow again, you won't be cold." He joked.

"Funny." Alice replied sarcastically. She sat down on the bed and hugged him "You really are a great gift giver."

"I wish I could have gotten you something though, everyone did, and I gave nothing…" she continued, a little sad.

"Weren't you the one who said it was the thought that counts?" Ivan asked "I know you would get us all gifts, and that is all that matters."

Alice hugged him again and snuggled her head into his shoulder "Merry Christmas, Ivan. You're the best"

"Merry Christmas, Alice."

Here is a chapter. It is done. Next will be another filler, be prepared.


	21. It's Better To Be Cold

Hey guys! It snowed! (I know it happened the day before yesterday)Anyway I am so happy! I wanted it to snow so badly this whole year; it's a little late though…Maybe it'll snow for my birthday (it's coming up soon!). I hope it does.

But uh yeah…this thing is a short one, isn't it? Uh…I guess here's your new chapter? (I really hope you like this one, I tried to make Ivan a badass)

CHAPTER 21

By seven o'clock in the morning the next day, Katyusha and Alice started to get ready to have their girl's day out. Katyusha was excited to finally have a bit of time to just hang out with her sister in law. It had been a long time coming, since she knew next to nothing about her, which was a bit sad since they were now family. Alice was happy as well since she liked Katyusha and naturally wanted to get to know her more. Katyusha was nice and funny and Alice needed a girl to talk to, she never did have many girl friends growing up.

But she was feeling sad as well. It had been three years since she had spent a Christmas holiday with her brother. She couldn't believe it. Alice wondered what exactly he was doing, if he was okay wherever he was, and if he was missing her as much as she missed him…

Katyusha zippered up her puffy white coat and slipped on a pair of mittens as she waited by the door for Alice to finish. Ivan was taking more precautions because of Gilbert's 'warning' so one of his men was waiting outside for them in a shiny black BMW. He told Alice that it was a cab, though Katyusha already knew it was one of the men that worked for Ivan.

Katyusha looked at her watch and her eyes widened at the time. She wanted to leave before traffic plagued the streets (as it always did, but especially around the holidays). If they left soon, they'd be able to go to all the stores Katyusha thought Alice would like (it was a bit hard, since Alice had no interest in clothing).

"Alice? Are you almost done?" she called politely, not wanting to rush her, but wanting to urge her on a tad so they could leave.

Alice was in Ivan's bedroom, slipping on her new jacket as she held a toothbrush in her mouth. She nodded at Katyusha's question, though she wasn't there to see her and started to brush her teeth.

She took the toothbrush out of her mouth for a moment to respond. "I'm almost done!"

Ivan who was in the bathroom with the door open shook his head at her reflection and silently went about getting dressed as he adjusted his tie. She walked into the bathroom and nudged him a little so he'd move over. Ivan reluctantly moved out of the way and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited to have his space in front of the sink back.

She spit in the sink, rinsed her mouth, and grinned in the mirror, checking out her signature bright smile before turning around to face him. She patted her hair down and looked at him apprehensively, not sure how to ask.

"Hey, um, I've been meaning to ask you…about my brother and all. How is it going?" she asked, somewhat reluctantly, a little scared to hear what he'd say about the subject.

Ivan sighed and looked at her with a tired expression. "Nothing, Alice. Nothing has been found so far on him."

"Oh."She responded softly. Alice's face fell and she hung her head a little.

"I told you it may take a while. There is only so much that can be done."

"I know. I just…I just want to see him." She replied, her voice now filled with disappointment instead of its usual cheerfulness.

Ivan pitied her, it was horrible not having your sibling when you needed them, he knew that firsthand. But there was only so much that could be done, and even less considering Alice had next to no idea as to where he could be."We will find him, or at the very least something about him, Alice. You just have to be a little patient, alright?"

She nodded quietly "Yeah, I'll try." She sighed and looked at him with a face full of sadness mixed with tiredness in her eyes. He resisted the urge to comfort and hug her, they'd been getting to close and it was becoming a problem. He settled with giving her a weak smile and encouraging words.

"Trust me, Eduard knows everything there is about finding people, if anyone can find your brother, it is him."

"I hope he can."

"He will, Alice. I want to you to find him as much as you do."

"So that my part of the deal will be done and I'll have to stay married to you?" she asked bluntly. She wanted him to say no, that he really wanted to help her. After everything that had happened, she wanted someone to genuinely care. She had been wondering for a while if he really actually wanted to help her, even more so now that she had become friendlier with him.

Actually Ivan hadn't even thought of that, he just wanted to make her wish happen. He genuinely wanted her to have her brother back, if only to see her happy. He was trying not to be close to her though so he refrained from saying any of that.

She looked at him with blue, hopeful eyes and Ivan could feel his heart break a little as he responded.

"Um…Yes." He said awkwardly and went back to adjusting his tie in the mirror so he wouldn't have to look at her face as it fell once again. "That was our agreement, I believe."

"Yeah, it was." She replied, disappointment easily showing through her words "I just thought you now wanted to help me because you were a nice person. I kinda thought that the deal was on the side, not as important, you know?" she paused a little, waiting for him to say something, but Ivan silently went about fixing his tie for the hundredth time in order not to look at her.

" I guess not…That was stupid of me, wasn't it?" she said to herself more than anyone.

Ivan didn't respond and started to fix his hair in the mirror.

"I guess it was. Anyway, thank you for helping me, Ivan. I really appreciate it."She nodded when he didn't respond yet again and left the room silently, leaving Ivan to feel like absolute shit.

Ivan heard Katyusha greet Alice happily and Alice respond just as sweetly, though her answer was a bit forced. Their voices faded as they walked towards the entrance of the apartment. The sound of a door opening and then closing was heard and the two were gone.

Ivan looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. It hurt a little now, but later he'd thank himself for doing this. He didn't realize what he had been doing, getting so close to her so quickly. He suspected that it had something to do with Alice being the same age as Natalia when she was alive. Plus she had little quirks that reminded him of his sister, it wasn't much of anything, mostly her smile and how cheerful she was, but it reminded him of Natalia…before she changed.

"It is for the best." He reminded himself as he straightened up and walked out of the bathroom.

^ J ^

Alice fidgeted in the seat of the car. She never was one for long cars rides and this one felt particularly longer. She looked outside and saw a grey sky filled with clouds and looked ahead to see a long train of traffic with cars lined up bumper to bumper. She sighed at the average gloomy weather and heavy traffic to go back to tapping her fingers along the window. Alice had a long ride to do nothing on and It didn't help that she had a lot on her mind.

Mostly she was thinking about her brother, he was always what she thought about. But now she had something else occupying her mind.

_What a fucking jerk._

Usually Alice was a little confused or annoyed by Ivan, but it was the type of confusion that was appealing. He was hard to understand, Ivan always seemed to be playing games with her mind whereas she was an open book. It was cute, sure when they were 'arguing' but this was different. He was now playing with her feelings, and Alice did not like that.

If anything, Alice was a bit hurt. She really thought that they had been getting closer, or at least somewhat friendly. She knew they had made a deal, but after getting to know each other more she thought he'd care more about wanting to help her, not about a contract they made. It confused her how one day she could kiss him and the next she could be so angry at him.

_It's all his fault._

Before meeting him, Alice never did get angry much, she wasn't that type of person. Now she only had two moods: angry and confused or happy. Both of these were caused by him.

Alice scoffed to herself at how easily she had fallen for him, it was pretty pathetic, even she knew that. But before she thought maybe she'd have a chance with him, now she wasn't sure what she wanted with him. It was confusing and frankly, it gave her a headache to think about things like this.

She frowned and tapped on the glass faster, making a steady rhythm with her movement. Katyusha looked at her, a little concerned because of the lack of talking.

"Are you alright, Alice?" Katyusha asked gently. She'd noticed that she had been acting a little different after she was done talking to Ivan. It was normal for husbands and wives to fight, but it looked like it was something serious.

"Huh?" Alice asked as she turned to face her "I'm sorry I was thinking about something." She added with a small smile.

"You haven't talked the whole time we were in the car…" Katyusha said. "Are you alright?"

Oh, that." Alice confirmed. She gave her what was supposed to be a bright grin, but turned out to be a dim smile."I'm alright, just a got a little bit too much on my mind."

"Oh." Katyusha said slowly "If it's about my brother, ignore him. He's an idiot sometimes."

Alice cracked a grin a laughed a little "You're telling me…I'll be fine though, don't worry about me, Katy."

"Alright." Katyusha responded uncertainly

"Where are we going, anyway?" Alice asked, trying to steer the conversation away from her feelings.

"Ah," Katyusha said with a little smile "I thought you'd like to get your hair done first. You did mention that you haven't got it done for a while, yes?"

At the mention of her hair, Alice ran her fingers through the dirty blonde mess of waves. "Yeah, I haven't gotten it cut for a while, actually. Usually I just do it myself."

"Really?" Katyusha asked, a little surprised "You did a pretty good job then. I couldn't even tell you did it yourself."

"Never saw the point of it really, if you have a steady hand and a ruler, you can cut hair pretty easily. I used to cut my brother's hair too." She finished her sentence with a small, reminiscent smile. It was a pain cutting their hair; it always seemed to grow so quickly and their wavy hair always seemed to get into knots. She remembered one time; they couldn't have been older than ten, that she got a hairbrush knotted into her hair while trying to brush it. It took Matthew almost an hour (and many threats from Alice) to get it out.

"You have a brother?" Katyusha asked, bringing Alice back out of her memories.

"Oh, yeah I do." She answered.

"How old is he?"

"We're twins. I'm the older one by twenty seconds I think…" Alice responded "Um, but can we change the subject, please?"

"Oh, no I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say anything about your family. I don't mean to intrude." Katyusha urged her.

"No, no it's fine. It was nothing you said, it's more about me. It's not something I like to talk about too much."

"I understand." Katyusha said knowingly. She reached out and patted Alice's hand. It was a small gesture and yet it was the comfort Alice needed at the time. She just wanted someone to be on her side, and even though Katyusha knew nothing about what she was going through, having someone care was enough.

"You know," Katyusha said "I'm happy that you are my sister in law."

Alice smiled and patted her hand back before smiling brightly "Me too."

^ J ^

Ivan opened the back door of another black BMW and got out of the car. He straightened his scarf and smiled his normal little smile as he walked towards the building where the Allied gang called their headquarters. Two men in black suits walked in front of him, guarding him just in case. Normally, Ivan would have only Yao or Francis with him but he didn't want to risk them or himself now that the Axis and the Allies were fighting again.

One of the two men opened the door, letting Ivan and the other bodyguard in. He walked up the stairs, with the two men in front of him, standing tall and scowling at anyone or anything they saw. As he walked by through the halls of the large building, Toris spotted him. The Lithuanian man walked after him quickly.

"Boss, boss!" he called as he hurried behind him. He waved his arms around to get his attention and called after him again.

Ivan turned around "What Toris?" he asked nicely, in the same sickly sweet voice he used with everyone.

Toris inwardly cringed at the sound of his tone. Though his voice was kind, it was easy to see that there was something off about it, something that Toris could not quite place. It had been a long time they had known each other (Ivan said that they were friends, though Toris was sure he more intimidating than friendly) and he could tell if there was something wrong, he must have been in a bad mood. And if there was something that was scarier than Ivan normally, it was Ivan in a bad mood.

"What, Toris?" he repeated again, this time with an annoyed tone to it.

Toris inwardly cringed again, cursing to himself at being right. "Um, boss, the leader of the Central gang is here. You called to speak to him right?"

Ivan frowned and looked at one of the two men standing on either side of him "The Central gang?" he asked. He felt that he recognized the name, but he wasn't sure.

"Yes, boss. The small gang that has been bothering us." The man replied gruffly.

"Oh, that one." He replied, smiling again he chuckled a little at the small gang. That was why he remembered them, they were powerful once, a long time ago when his father was still the boss of the now they were nothing more than a nuisance, and nuisances were not tolerated. "Alright. I'll see him in a second."

He waved the two men in front of him away and they left, to go do their own business, alone. Ivan on the other hand, walked towards his own office and the large room connected to it. He dug his hands into the pockets of his coat and smiled as he walked into the large room leading to his office.

He took off his coat and slung it over his arm as he walked through the room and nodded at Eduard who was sitting at one of the computers in the room, off to the side.

"Where is everyone else?' he asked as he hung his coat on the small rack near the door.

"Yao is waiting in the other room with Francis and Arthur. Toris is here, obviously and Ravis is off running errands. The rest are either here doing business or off collecting debts." He responded without looking up from the computer.

Ivan walked into his office and returned holding a small glass filled with vodka. He downed half of it and walked over to Eduard. He rested his hand on the table the computer was on.

"And what are you doing?" he asked Eduard.

"Managing the finances." He replied "Why?"

"I need you to look for Alice's brother."

Eduard sighed and took off his glasses to rub his eyes "Boss, I've told you, I couldn't find anything on him. Nothing recent at least, only a birth certificate and school records. It's like he wasn't alive for the past three years."

"Well then search again. I want something to be found on him, anything." Ivan ordered sternly.

Before Eduard could answer, Francis walked into the room. He nodded at Eduard who nodded back in greeting.

"Why do you want to find out about her brother so badly?" Francis asked as he smiled at Ivan. He already guessed the answer, but he wanted to hear what Ivan had to say.

"Alice and I have a deal, remember? I am helping her find her brother and she got married to me in return."

"Are you sure that is the only reason, Ivan?" He asked coyly. He walked up to Ivan and poked him in the chest as he said this.

Ivan frowned and pushed Francis away from him. "Yes, that is the only reason. I have a deal to keep, and if I do not keep it then she will not keep her end of the deal."

"Oh?" Francis asked, not very surprised at his answer, he was always the type to try not to feel things. It annoyed Francis, since Ivan was not only his boss but his friend and he wanted the best for him.

"Yes." He replied and drank the rest of his drink before setting the glass down on the table Eduard was sitting at.

Francis frowned. There was something a little off about Ivan. He couldn't tell what, but it seemed like he was forcing himself to say this. Francis looked him over and looked at him with doubtful eyes. He was sure that Ivan cared for Alice. To what extent, he wasn't sure of yet, Ivan was hard to figure out, even if you were friends with him.

"Can I talk to you?" Francis asked.

Ivan shrugged "Sure." He walked to his office and Francis followed behind. Ivan sat down at the chair in front of his desk and spun around on it so he was facing Francis. He placed his elbows on the desk and rested his chin in his hands. Francis stayed standing up, and leaned against the wall near the door, crossing his arms over his chest as well.

"What would you like to talk about? Keep it short; we have to meet with the leader of the Central gang in a short while."

"I just wanted to ask how you are feeling. Are you alright?" Francis questioned.

"I feel fine, the same as always." Ivan replied somewhat coldly.

"I'm asking as Francis, your friend, not your worker." Francis clarified. "There is something wrong and I can tell. Tell me if you can, I could help you." He urged.

"It is nothing of importance, Francis. I am fine I told you."

"Is it something involving your sister? Is she alright?' Francis asked, not caring about the tone in Ivan's voice that was warning him to stop asking.

"Katyusha is fine, Francis. If something was wrong with her, do you actually think I would be _here_?"

"Fair enough," he responded "so then it has to do with either the gang or Alice."

"If I tell you will you stop bothering me?" Ivan asked lazily.

"Sure."

"It is nothing really; I am just separating myself a bit from Alice. I had grown to close to her and it was starting to become a problem." He replied simply.

"What do you mean 'separating yourself'?" Francis pressed on.

"I mean that I am distancing myself from her. As I said before, we had become too close. I do not want to be too friendly with her."

"I understood what you meant; I just don't understand why you would need to do that."

"We both know the reason why, Francis. I do _not_ want to talk about this anymore, do you understand?" he warned. He smile was faltering and turning into a frown and he was doing his best to keep his voice steady.

Francis nodded and backed down. He didn't want to make his boss any angrier. Francis had never really seen Ivan angry, but from what Yao had told him, it was terrifying. He was a bit put off since he couldn't get a straight answer out of him (not that he was really expecting one anyway) but he decided to drop the matter.

"We should go see the boss of the Centrals…" Ivan said, as he got up. His voice returned to having its usual light, happy tone. Luckily for everyone, Ivan was not the type to stay mad for long, unless you did something wrong involving his family. If you disrespected his family in any way, you had better call an ambulance in advance because there was a 100% chance that you'd need it after he finished with you.

"Right." Francis responded as he opened the door. He walked out first and Ivan walked behind him, closing the door to his office as he left.

"Go on Francis, I need to talk to Eduard for a moment." Ivan half ordered, half asked.

Francis looked at the both of them for a moment before nodding and leaving them alone. Eduard looked up from the computer and cocked his head a little.

"Do you need something boss?" Eduard asked, a little confused. He never got targeted by Ivan, actually they got a long fairly well (unlike Toris and now Ravis who seemed to get his anger taken out on them) so it was odd that he wanted to talk to him privately, it must be something important.

"Eduard, I really need you to find him, alright? I know I have asked you before but this is very important for me."

"I thought it was your wife's brother, but why woul-"he stopped talking when he saw Ivan's lips press into a thin line.

"Is there anything I can do that could help your search?" Ivan asked sweetly. He smiled at him and watched as Eduard pressed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and thought a little.

"Um…Well I have next to no information about him. Maybe if you could tell me more about his life that would help." He replied.

Ivan frowned and tapped his chin as he thought about how he would accomplish this. Alice was very touchy on the subject of her family. He knew about as much as Eduard did now and he was married to her. If he had to get information out of her, it would take a while and he'd have to be very careful going about it. He had already made her angry at him, and it wasn't even concerning the subject of her brother much.

Ivan sighed "This will be hard…I think I may be able to, though." He turned to look at Eduard again. "Is there anything in particular you would like to know?"

"Um…Maybe about the last time he was seen? That would help significantly. If there was anything he said or did before he left that could help me with finding him would be good."

"Oh…" Ivan said to himself. This would be harder than he anticipated. Her brother was not a subject they liked to talk about, but if it was to help him with his search, he was sure Alice wouldn't mind too much. He didn't want to bring up any bad memories for her, but if it was necessary, then it had to be done.

"Fine. I will tell you any information I get from her." Ivan said.

Eduard nodded and went back to his computer. Ivan left the room and saw Francis waiting outside, leaning against the wall near the door with a small smile on his face. His eyes widened as he noticed that he was still waiting for him.

"Hello boss." Francis greeted pleasantly. He smiled at him knowingly. Ivan frowned at him.

"What is it?" Ivan growled. He started walking towards the other room, where he was to meet the boss of the Central.

"Hm?" he asked as he started walking along with Ivan "Nothing."

"Fine." Ivan replied. He already guessed that Francis heard him speaking to Eduard, but he didn't care about what he thought about his relationship with Alice (or lack thereof according to Ivan).

Thankfully for him, Francis didn't speak about it any longer and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Ivan opened the door to a large room they used for meetings at the end of the hall. He walked in first and Francis followed behind him.

Seated around a long table was Arthur, Yao, Toris and a man who looked to be in his thirties. He had straight brown hair parted in the middle and reached to the nape of his neck. His brown eyes were narrowed in anger and he frowned as he saw Ivan walk in. Near him were four men standing behind him, all guarding him while another man sat next to him, clearly an advisor of some sort.

Francis sat next to Arthur and Ivan sat at the head of the table, with Yao on his left and Toris on his right. He smiled and tapped the table with his fingers in a steady rhythm.

"Alexander, right?" he asked the man at the other end of the table.

Alexander nodded "Yes."

"You wanted to speak to me?" Ivan asked, and smiled at the men who stood behind Alexander.

"Yes."

"Then speak."

"I have noticed that some of your men," with this said he nodded at Francis and Arthur. Arthur scowled at him and Francis flashed a bright smile. "Have fought with some of mine."

"Really?" Ivan asked. "From what I understand, your men have been provoking ours for a while." He looked at Arthur "Isn't that right, Arthur?"

Arthur nodded quickly and went back to glaring at Alexander.

"So then it is settled." Ivan concluded "Not only have your men been bothering me, but you have the nerve to try and say it was my men's fault."

Alexander's eyes narrowed even more and he was about to speak when the man who sat next to him, patted him on the shoulder, making him calm down.

"What we came to ask is for you to forgive us for those two. They went against orders and targeted your men." The man who sat next to Alexander clarified. He smiled at Arthur and then at Ivan. "It won't happen again."

"No it won't." Ivan said sternly "Where are those two?"

"Behind us," the advisor said. He motioned to two of the four men to step forward. The two, with sheepish looks on their faces were shoved forward by another man that stood near Alexander. One of them glared at Arthur while the other looked straight ahead at Ivan. The taller one had a large band aid covering his nose. The one with the band aid couldn't be more than eighteen while the other one, though he looked older was still not older than twenty one at most.

Ivan chuckled "These two were giving you problems, Francis? I thought you of all people would e able to settle something with _them_." He shook his head and got up, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Alexander called "What are we going to do about this?"

Ivan stopped walking and turned around. "What do you expect me to do? I will not kill children." He chuckled at the two of them. "Even I have morals."

"But" Ivan continued, smiling innocently "If you even step on my territory again with intentions of hurting either my men or me, I will not hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes. I will wipe out your whole gang personally without hesitation. Do you understand me?"

Alexander's eyes widened at the threat and he nodded.

"You are lucky that I am in a good mood, Alexander." He nodded at the two boys that stood near Alexander "And you two are lucky that I still have a heart."

He turned to Yao "Let's go, I do not have time to waste on this."

Yao got up as well as Francis and Arthur. Toris gave a curt nod to the boss of the Central gang before getting up as well. The older of the two boys started shaking in anger and balled his hands into fists.

"You are a coward!" he yelled "You are called the white wolf because people fear you and yet, you can't even deal with another gang!"

Ivan stopped in his tracks and turned around to watch the boy finish yelling. Yao, Arthur, and Francis' eyes widened and Toris shook his head at the boy's ignorance.

You aren't powerful at all! You are nothing without-"With this, Alexander's advisor got up and covered the boy's mouth.

Yao's, Arthur's and Toris' eyes widened in shock. Francis sighed and rubbed his head. They all knew what he was going to say next and it was a horrible mistake. Arthur sighed as he knew the boy was a good as dead at this point and Toris shook his head and hung his head. The poor boy as going to get it.

"I am sorry, ignore this boy. He is an idiot and he doesn't know what he is talking about." Alexander's advisor said quickly. He glared at the boy "We will deal with him, I assure you."

Ivan put his hand up, signaling for him to stop talking "No, let him finish, I want to hear what he is going to say."

The advisor shook his head "No, no it was nothing important-"

"I said let him finish." Ivan ordered. His voice was now shaking in anger, but his smile was still on his face. In fact, it was now getting wider. He put one of his hands under his suit jacket and urged him on with a wave of his other hand. "Finish what you were saying."

The advisor uncovered his mouth and the boy glared at him before turning back to face Ivan with firm resolve in his eyes. He glared at Ivan before continuing to speak.

"You're nothing without your sister. And you are nothing like your father either."

Ivan smiled. "Is that all you were going to say?" he asked.

The boy glared at him but made no effort to respond.

"Well then."Ivan took one of his hands out from under his suit jacket and pulled out a gun. Alexander's eyes widened along with the advisor's.

Ivan smiled and aimed with his right hand before shooting. It seemed to go in slow motion, the boy's eyes widened and his mouth opened to scream. No one behind Ivan made an effort to move or stop Ivan and they stood back. Toris closed his eyes and turned away. Yao grimaced and Arthur smirked. The boy flinched but before he could even move out of the way, the bullet was lodged into his skull, between his eyes. Just as Ivan had said. He fell down instantly with a thud.

The boy with a band aid on his nose gasped and reached knelt down to tend to his friend, who was already dead. The advisor's eyes widened and he looked from Ivan to the boy on the floor and back to Ivan.

"Now," Ivan said, with his voice laced with a sugary sweet tone. He put his gun back into the holster under his suit jacket. "That as a warning shot. Anyone who says anything that has the slightest negative tone about my family will be killed. No questions asked, no mercy given. You will die and I will not give it a second thought."

"He was lucky that I only shot him." He looked at the other boy whose eyes were wide in fear "Count yourself lucky that I don't kill you and everyone else in your gang. Let this be a message, from me to you to stay the fuck out of my territory."

"Let's go." He said to his men. Toris walked ahead quickly, not wanting to see the dead body. Arthur smirked at the other boy as he left and Francis pushed him ahead before he could kill the rest of them. Yao walked next to Ivan.

"Now clean this up." He ordered one of the two bodyguards near him "And you," he said to the other "Escort Alexander out of the building."

"Have a nice day." He called before exiting the room, leaving the rest of the men to stare at the dead body that was now bleeding crimson red blood onto the white tiled floor.

No one said anything to Ivan as they walked with him out of the room. They did not want to anger him any more than he already was. They walked silently, with no one looking behind them as Ivan smiled to himself.

"Do you know the difference between us and them, Yao?" Ivan asked, breaking the silence.

Yao looked at him and shook his head "No boss."

"Tact. They have no tact. And without tact you are not a gang, you are a group of idiots who kill people and extort money. That is what makes us different from them, and that is what we must maintain."

^ J ^

Alice and Katyusha returned to their shared apartment at eight o clock at night, a little after Ivan had come home himself. She came into the apartment with bags from various stores looped through her arms. Katyusha smiled and chatted with her as she tried to close the door without dropping anything she had bought as well.

They walked through the hallway together before reaching the living room. Alice dropped her bags on the floor and sprawled out on the couch. Katyusha did the same, though she placed her bags down instead of dropping them on the floor and sat next to her instead of slumping over as Alice did.

Ivan walked over to them with a mug of coffee in his hand. He smiled at his sister but his eyes widened when he saw Alice.

"You cut your hair." He stated as he looked at her new hairstyle. It was significantly shorter, and went from reaching to the middle of her back to reaching just above her shoulders. Side bangs were also cut and it parted to the left, covering her eyes slightly. Though it was trimmed and styled, her cowlick stayed. It swayed slightly as she cocked her head at him.

"Yes she did! I think he looks so cute." Katyusha said and smiled at Alice.

"Why, you don't like it?" Alice challenged, frowning at him. Obviously she was still a little angry with him. Ivan inwardly cursed; he had wished that she'd be in a better mood since he had planned to ask her about her brother.

"No, I do." He thought she looked much cuter with shorter hair; it stayed out of her eyes and let her face show more. He never noticed her eyes were so big without her bangs covering her eyes. With her hair so short, it became wavier as well. It also made her look younger, which Ivan wasn't exactly fond of, since she already looked younger than she actually was.

She shrugged, and turned back to Katyusha. Either way, she didn't care whether he liked how she looked or not. Personally she thought she looked much better. Her hair would be less work and that was great since she never really liked to spend too much time on her looks.

"Thanks for taking me out today, Katy! It was really really fun!" she said happily.

"Of course, it was no problem dear! We should do this more often." She responded.

"I have to talk to you, Alice." Ivan cut in, before Alice could continue talking. She frowned as he talked and looked at him.

"Well what is it?" she asked, a little annoyed that he was butting in when she and Katyusha were talking.

"Can we talk in private?" Alice frowned at him "Please?" he added trying to make himself sound nicer.

She shrugged and got up. Ivan walked in front of her and she dragged her feet behind him. She really didn't feel like talking to him about what had happened earlier that morning. She'd rather just be annoyed at him for the rest of the day, and possibly forever.

He walked into his bedroom and she followed him, closing the door behind her. He sat down on the bed but she stayed standing up, not wanting to be too close to him.

She crossed her arms over her chest and chewed on her lip "Alright then, what is it?"

"You're not going to sit down?" Ivan asked. It seemed odd talking to her while she was still standing, she looked so tall and it made him feel odd. He wondered if this was how she felt when he talked to her…It was actually kind of funny. He was starting to smile at the idea of her being taller than him and how odd it felt when he she stared at him.

"What are you smiling at me like that for?" she asked and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, nothing. Don't you want to sit down?" he repeated again.

"Ugh, fine." She sat down next to him on the bed and blew away a piece of hair that fell into her eyes. "What is it then?"

Ivan didn't know how to start of a conversation that she obviously didn't want to talk about…but since he had no other ideas, he decided to do it bluntly.

"I need to ask you about your brother."


	22. A Plan Made

Hey guys. I hope you are/will be having a great break (even though for public schools we only have 2 more days off, courtesy of Sandy :/) I have just seen the trailer for RWBY white and oh my god it was so good! Personally, I like Ruby more than Weiss but Weiss is really pretty. I think I will cosplay as Ruby one day (let me just add that to the list of the hundreds of characters I want to cosplay as…).

NEW CHARACTERS INTRODUCED IN THIS CHAPTER! (sorry)

Oh well, here you guys go: The New Chapter! :D

CHAPTER: 22

Alice blinked in surprise and her mouth hung open slightly for a moment. Ivan gave her a sympathetic glance and patted her hand. He knew that she would be a little surprised and he felt awkward just asking her about her family, but it was to help her, not to be intrusive. She gulped and frowned a little when he touched her hand and moved it away, placing it on her lap.

"My brother?" she asked.

Ivan nodded. "Yes, I need to know about him-"

"Why do you need to know about him?" Alice asked suspiciously. She narrowed her eyes at him and moved away a little on the bed.

"I don't, Eduard does. It would be better to know more about him, so then it would be easier to find him."

Alice frowned a little and looked him up and down, for any sign of him being untruthful.

"I am not asking to be intrusive," he assured her with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood (but failing miserably). "Just tell me whatever you are alright with telling me."

"What do you need to know about him?" Alice asked slowly.

Ivan thought a little "Eduard never said anything in particular he would need to know…Anything that you can tell that you would be comfortable with is fine."

Alice nodded but did not stop frowning at him. He nodded at her to start talking and she brushed back her hair with her fingers, smoothing down a few strands that hung in her face. She sighed and looked down at the floor as she started talking about her twin. "Alright…He and I never talked about exactly where we wanted to leave to…He mentioned Canada a few times, he liked it there for some reason…"

Ivan looked at her in confusion when she trailed off. "Leave?"

Alice rubbed her forehead "…We wanted to leave when we were old enough to get jobs, obviously that didn't happen…" She trailed off again and chewed on her lip as she thought about what else she could say.

Ivan nodded "Go on…" he urged her gently in a neutral tone, as Katyusha always did with him.

"Right, um he can speak French, better than me actually. He remembered all the words and phrases; I had trouble learning new languages, it wasn't my kind of thing…" she sighed and adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose "I'm going off topic, aren't I?"

Ivan shook his head "No, just speak. It doesn't matter what you say, as long as you are comfortable with what you are saying."

"He can speak French and…"She shook her head. "I'm sorry but this isn't working."

Ivan nodded and put his hands up for her to stop. "It's fine, you don't have to tell me. Tell Eduard; sometimes it is easier talking to someone you barely know than someone you know better."

"I think you're right…" she got up from the bed and stood up. "Just tell me when I can speak to him, and I will."

"Tomorrow is fine. I will tell Eduard and he can meet you here."

"Right…thank you." She said quickly and left the room in a hurry to get out of the awkward environment.

When the door closed, Ivan sighed and rubbed his face.

_That was a great conversation._

He tugged on his scarf a little and lay down on his bed, with his feet hanging off of the edge.

As he lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling, he couldn't help but wonder about Alice's life before they met. What did Alice mean about leaving? Obviously she didn't want to stay with her father; he was not a great person (to say the least) from what he had gathered from their conversations.

Her brother though, hardly came up, unless it was to comment about him vaguely. It was not something Ivan talked to her about, since he could tell that it hurt her to say much about him. She would often seem to forget that she was talking to someone else and would babble on about her brother, talking about different things he liked or things they had done…

Ivan remembered how she looked when she talked about her brother, her face lit up and she smiled softly. She must have loved him very dearly, at least from what Ivan saw in his perspective. He must have been the only one she had, since she obviously had no feelings for her father other than dislike, and she never did mention her mother…

It was kind of sad, the life she had. Ivan knew too well about family problems, he had more than his fair share of them and so he understood how she felt. Alice had it worse though, while he still had a sister and cousin, Alice was totally alone. She also never showed any sadness about the past (aside from the one time she cried) and kept a smile on her face all the time. That was something they had in common: a mask.

Sometimes Ivan forgot about what it was like to feel, since keeping a smile on his face had become the closest thing to emotion. He had to remind himself that it was better this way, to act cheerful and to keep the sadness bottled up but he could feel something tugging at his heart now and then. He hated that feeling and ran away from it whenever he felt it. To be truthful, it scared him and he didn't want to be scared anymore. He had been scared for too long. So, he snuffed out any bit of feelings about his past before they could even wondered if Alice did the same thing…

Ivan was knocked back from his thoughts when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He groaned and fished into his pocket for it, pulling it out and glancing at the caller. He brought it up to his ear and sighed.

"Hello Yao."

"Oh…Hello Ivan, I didn't expect you to pick up."

Ivan hummed a little in response "What is it?" He didn't appreciate being cut off in the middle of thought, and he didn't feel like talking about anything having to do with the Allies at the moment.

"I've called to tell you that Alexander wasn't exactly happy about what transpired earlier."

Ivan couldn't help but chuckle "Obviously."

"Yes, well I think we may have another gang that is against us."

"How do you know?"

"While they were being escorted out, Alexander yelled that we 'would pay for killing off his family'. It turns out the young man you shot was his brother…"

"Oh." Ivan said slowly "I see."

"Yes…What do you think we should do?"

Ivan smiled "They will not be a problem, Yao. I was not lying when I said that I would and could kill off every member of his gang. I am a bit surprised that that was his brother, but I am not at all regretful for what I did. I am being totally honest when I say that they had it coming. We all knew that someone would die sooner or later, and it was obvious that it would not be any of us."

"Yes, but don't you think you are trying to handle too much at once?"

"How so?"

"Well the Axis are against you, along with the Centrals, you are trying to locate Alice's brother who may or may not be alive, meanwhile you have to keep the whole charade of being married to her, and you have to deal with your sister's condition…"

"Are you saying that I cannot handle all of this?"

"Not at all," Yao said quickly. "But as one friend to another let me ask you to please try and not add anything else to the long list of things you have to do. I fear for your health. If you handle too much at once you will become overwhelmed and get sick."

Ivan groaned from frustration "Everyone says that. I will be fine. I can handle myself; I am an adult, Yao." He snapped.

"Are you alright, Ivan?"

"I told you that I can handle myself, Yao." Ivan breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself down. He could feel a migraine coming on…

"No, not about that. Something else seems to be bothering you, I can tell."

"Everyone says that…Am I really that easy to read?"

Yao laughed "Not at first, but once I got to know you, I could tell your moods easily. It just took a while."

"That is probably why Alice can't tell what I am thinking."

"Yes, that and she is as dense as wood."

Ivan chuckled and then grimaced as he felt his head pound furiously. "That is true…"

"So what is the problem?" Yao asked. Ivan was hoping that he'd have forgotten about the topic that they left hanging, but unfortunately for him, Yao had the memory of an elephant.

"Um…" Ivan glanced at the door to his room. It felt like it was made of paper now, because of what he was going to say. Katyusha or Alice could easily hear him (though he mostly cared about the former hearing what he had to say) and he didn't want that.

"Wait a minute." Ivan said as he got up from the bed and grabbed his coat. He opened the door and walked through the hallway as he slipped his arm through one of the sleeves the coat.

Ivan walked to the living room, where Alice and Katyusha were sitting on the couch, surrounded by bags talking excitedly. When Katyusha noticed her brother in the room as well she smiled. Alice glanced at him briefly. When he felt her eyes on him, he looked at her and their eyes locked before she then looked back down at one of the large bags filled with clothes that were on the couch.

Ivan turned away from her as well and looked at his sister instead.

"Oh, hello Ivan…" she looked at his coat and cocked her head a little in a questioning manner "Where are you going?"

"Outside. I will be back in a little while, alright?" he frowned "By the way…Where is Feliks?"

"He called and told me that he was going to see Toris. Why? Do you need to talk to him about something?" She raised an eyebrow at him and stared at him sternly. She was hinting at something being the matter within their gang.

Ivan looked at her and shook his head, and looked at Alice to see if she had noticed their interactions. Alice, of course, did not even sense that the mood had changed; she was too busy trying to find the remote to watch TV. Ivan sighed in relief and looked back to his sister.

"No, it's nothing important…

She narrowed her eyes at him but did not ask about anything else related to the matter."Alright…If you say so…"

He gave her a small nod and waved before turning to leave. He glanced at Alice over his shoulder but left when he saw that she was not paying attention to him. Katyusha smiled and continued heir interrupted conversation as if nothing had happened. But though Alice nodded at her words, she wasn't listening. As he left, Alice watched him out of the corner of her eyes. Something was wrong, she just didn't know what…

^ J ^

Ivan walked through the living and into the foyer where he finished putting on his coat and opened the front door.

"Hello?" he asked as he opened the door and walked through. "Yao are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here still. That took long."

Ivan walked down the hall, towards the elevator in the middle of the narrow passageway. He stood in front of it and pressed the button for it to come up lazily. As he waited for the elevator to come up, he answered Yao.

"I had to leave my apartment for a moment."

"Oh, was there a problem or something?"

When it came up to his floor, he stepped in and pressed the button to go to the lobby. He tapped his foot and sighed impatiently as it went down through the many levels of the building.

"No, I just did not want to talk about this with Katyusha and Alice listening…"

The doors opened on the first floor, the lobby and Ivan stepped through them. He nodded at the older gentleman behind the front desk who he knew so well and walked towards the front door, where a doorman stood.

"Ah…Now tell me, what is wrong?" Yao asked.

As the door was opened for him, he smiled. A rush of cold air met him as he went out into the cold December evening. He was greeted by small flurries of snowflakes as the drifted lazily through the breeze. They were barely noticeable, but danced through the lights of the street lamps, where they were more noticeable. It was late enough for the streets to be less crowded, but not enough for everyone to be completely gone so Ivan could talk without fear of anyone eavesdropping.

"My problem?" Ivan asked absentmindedly. In his newly lightened mood, he forgot about what they had been speaking about previously.

"Yes, the problem you said you had…"

"Right. It is nothing, just about Alice."

Yao hummed happily on the other end "I thought so…"

"It is not good."

"What do you mean? Did you have a fight with her?"

"No, not exactly. I think if anything, she is disappointed…"

"What happened?"

Ivan started walking down the street, he had nowhere to go and nothing to do, so he decided aimlessly wandering around would be a good idea as any. He shook his head as he walked past a couple holding hands and laughing and continued to speak.

"Nothing. I have been meaning to stop being so close to her…It was not good for either of us really. She has noticed and is a little disappointed I guess."

"Of course she is disappointed; she probably thought that you liked her."

"Well, it is the best for the both of us. In the end I would have ended up getting bored with her, like every other woman I have dated."

"So you were thinking of her as a love interest?" Yao asked in surprise.

"No. She is like any other woman I have known."

"But she's different."

"How so?"

"She's your wife; you can't get rid of her."

Ivan chuckled "I guess you are right Yao. There is no way for us to go back now, since we are married." It was a blessing and a curse in that she was always there, whether he wanted her to be or not. It was nice having someone around, but Ivan feared that he would grow to close to her…

"No." he continued "I do not feel anything for her.

"I didn't ask…"

"I thought you would."

"No. I know your personality, Ivan. You have to give me more credit; I am one of your oldest friends."

"You're right, I know."

"But won't you be hurting her feelings when you decide to suddenly stop being so nice to her? Won't she find it a little odd to say the least? Alice is dense, yes, but she is not stupid."

"I told you, it is for the best. She is already being colder towards me."

"And you are okay with that?"

"That is what I want."

He walked past a row of small businesses and stopped when he saw a little coffee shop. A few people were inside, staying away from the cold while drinking tea and taking advantage of the free wifi. Ivan shrugged and walked into the small café, deciding that he wanted a cup of coffee.

"Wait a minute, Yao." Ivan said before Yao could answer. He looked at the menu of the café, looking at each option he could have. There were a lot of sweets and cakes along with types of tea and soda, but he settled on just an average cup of coffee.

Ivan walked up to the counter where a cheerful looking teenage girl with very curly brown hair, and shining brown eyes stood, adding cash to a register. She smiled when she saw him walk up to her.

"Anything you'd like?" she asked nicely as she blew a piece of purple hair out of her face.

"A medium coffee please, one milk two sugars." He responded as he mulled over the list of items on the chalkboard hung over the counter.

"That's it?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you."

"Alirght," she wiped her hands on her apron and turned to face another girl, who was frowning as she poured a kettle of tea into a white mug and handed it to a woman who was waiting on the other side of the counter. "One coffee, one milk, two sugars." She said to the girl, who was already making the coffee. She took out a cup of milk and poured it into the mixture. After adding two sugars, she placed it on the counter in front of him.

She held out her hand "Two dollars."

Ivan frowned a little at her curtness but gave her the money she asked for. She placed it in the cash register while the other girl smiled at him apologetically "Have a nice day, sir!"

Ivan grabbed his cup of coffee and sat down at a table in the corner of the café, where he was not bothered by hipsters updating their blogs or women talking loudly about various television shows.

"Yao?"

"I'm still here."

He blew on his coffee and took a small sip. He nodded at the flavor, for it made quite well, despite the bad service.

"So then what do you suppose you do about her?" Yao asked

"Nothing, I do what I have been doing and that is it."

"Alright…"

"Is there anything else that you wanted to talk to me about?" Ivan asked, trying to get away from that particular topic.

"No, I just wanted to let you know about the Centrals."

"They won't do anything. And if they don't do anything, then we won't, simple as that." He assured his friend.

"Fine. Goodbye then."

"Goodbye."

Ivan put his phone back into his coat pocket and took another sip of his coffee as he watched the snowflakes drift slowly through the air. He really did have a lot to do.

^ J ^

(MEANWHILE, IN ANOTHER PART OF NEW YORK NOT VERY FAR AWAY…)

A man sat behind a desk, with his hands resting near under his chin. His tall frame looked shorter with him slumped over in deep thought as he looked through a few papers set in front of him. He didn't bother to read any of them; he already knew what they said. He had read them enough to know them by heart. His father had left a mess of things after his death, with debts he had not paid and people he had left angry and holding grudges. Unfortunately, he was too much like his older son and lived in the moment instead of planning ahead.

It was now up to his two sons (and the butt of the responsibility fell on Ludwig) to clear his debts and settle his scores with other gangs. Towards the end of his life, he had entrusted Ludwig with the settling of his debts (though he loved the both of them, he knew his older son would not be of much help).

Ludwig pushed the papers away on his desk and took off his glasses. He'd finish settling the finances another day, he had other things on his mind…He wasn't sure how to go about being the boss of a gang, he had to be sure of what he was doing and not second guess himself, that was part of the job description. His father had made it look so easy…

Gilbert was a better leader than Ludwig ever was; he always came up with the best ideas and plans. He never second guessed himself and always figured out a way to get out of any problem. Though his father wanted Gilbert to take over, Ludwig was stuck with the job since his older brother said that 'leading was too much work'. Gilbert said that Ludwig with be the best for the job anyway, though Ludwig wasn't so sure.

He jumped up as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and made him snap out of his daze. He turned around quickly, expecting it to be Gilbert or one of his men only to sigh when he saw that it was only his girlfriend.

"What are you doing here so late?" she asked sweetly as she kissed him on the top of his head.

He gave her a tired smile and kissed her on the cheek. "I could ask you the same thing. Don't you want to go home? You said you were hungry…"

"Yeah but I don't want to leave you alone!" she looked over at the open door, where another man was standing and smirking at the both of them "Plus your brother wants a ride."

"He's old enough to drive! He has his own car anyway!"

"But, Ludwig, he's your brother."

"Yeah Luddy I'm your brother!" The man in the doorway said mockingly as he walked over towards the couple. "Besides I'm too lazy to get my car…"

"Gilbert what are you doing? Go home." He said, exasperated.

"I don't want to. Me and Roderich got into a fight and now all he's doing is playing the piano. It's so annoying."

"You do know that if I take you home, you'll still have to put up with your boyfriend."

"Yeah but you could tell him to calm down, he likes you anyway." He replied with a twinge of jealousy.

"The only reason he likes me more is because we were roommates for years." He frowned at his older brother "Plus, you're an asshole."

"Ludwig, don't say that about your brother. You sound like Ramona." Feliciana shook her head at the thought of her sister.

"Yeah, Ludwig, don't say those things about your brother." Gilbert mocked.

"Why are you always on his side?!" he exclaimed at Feliciana, who shrugged.

"Hey, calm down little bro." Gilbert said nicely as he tousled his brother's hair. "I stayed here for more than a ride to my place."

"What are you talking about, Gilbert?" He asked suspiciously as he batted his hands away.

"I have information that you would like to know."

"Oh! What is it?" Feliciana asked excitedly.

"Yes, get on with it." Ludwig said as he got up from his desk and put his glasses in his pocket. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his brother sternly.

"Do you know about the Centrals?"

"I know of them. What is the problem?"

"We don't have a problem with them, but it turns out that they do with the Allies."

"Okay..." Feliciana said, not really understanding what either was talking about.

"They met up not long ago to talk about how the Centrals were going into their territory. Apparently, Ivan got pissed off pretty badly, because he shot the leader's brother."

Ludwig's eyes widened "He's dead?"

Gilbert nodded "Yep, dead." He smiled at Ludwig "So what do we have here? An angry older brother with a grudge, the emotionally unstable leader of a gang that we just can't seem to beat, and two gangs that are against us."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, little brother?" Gilbert mused.

Ludwig smiled as well "Yes, actually."

Feliciana shook her head "No."

Gilbert smiled at her "It's okay Feliciana, I'll explain it to you later. Either way, we are going to need your help."

"My help?" Feliciana asked in surprise. She had been in the gang almost as long as Ludwig and she had never been asked to do anything. She grinned "Okay! What do I have to do?"

"You have a lot of friends, don't you?"

Feliciana nodded happily "Yeah, much more than Ramona, she is not very friendly."

"Good, we're going to need all the friends we can get."

Ludwig grabbed his coat that was hanging on the back of his chair and started to slip it on.

"We're leaving?" Feliciana asked.

"We have a lot to plan, Feli." Ludwig said happily. He took his girlfriend's hand and kissed her on the cheek.

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him back. It had been a while since he was so happy, and she liked it much better than his tired, anxious self lately.

"Oh yeah, a lot to plan." Gilbert repeated and put his arm around his brother as he smirked his signature smirk.

Alright guys here you go! I am really excited about this chapter and the one coming up next! I hope you liked both of these!


	23. Crimson Snowflakes

Hello guys. I know that I usually have along introduction and all that, but I intend to keep this one short and sweet. I'd just like to tell you something before I get to the story: I am reading the Song of Ice and Fire series and even though I am only on the first book, I am very into it! I really recommend it to you guys, but they are long so if you hate long books, these are not for you.

I am really excited about this chapter; I finally feel that the story is starting to get depth and pick up! I hope you'll like this chapter because you will not be getting another next week. It will be my birthday, so I am going to celebrate! So enough with the talking, here's the new chapter:

CHAPTER 23

Ivan ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair as he mulled over the cold rain that fell outside. It was so cold that the rain quickly turned to hail and made a steady drumming sound as it panned against the glass he stood in front of. The gloomy weather was nothing new, especially not in this time of year but still…something felt odd. He could not put his finger on it, but he could feel that something was going to happen.

Maybe it had to do with how quiet things had been for the last month. December had come and gone and January was reaching its end as well with nothing happening. Didn't Gilbert promise that a war would be coming? Ivan had seen no sign of any war, not even interaction between his gang and the Axis had been made. All the antagonizing acts were gone; it seemed as though they had drawn back to settle and regroup. This was unsettling to say the least.

Or perhaps the feeling had to do with the attacks the Centrals were having against his gang. Ivan was expecting them to react badly to the killing of their boss' brother, that was no surprise. What made him have an anxious feeling deep within him were the attacks in themselves. The Centrals were not happy about this, and they showed their anger by killing two of Ivan's men.

They were killed silently and quietly in the dark of the night, with no gloating or credit given. But it was obvious it was themThey were not important men within his gang, so he was not outright angry, but he was now very on edge. If the Centrals were asking to be noticed, Ivan certainly was aware of them. Coupled with his naturally skeptical demeanor, these acts were making him anxious.

He could see through their acts. Ivan knew that they were trying to antagonize him until he made the first move. And though Ivan had nothing against being proactive, he felt that it was dangerous at this time to do anything just yet. No, it was better to have a good plan and think it through. He tapped his fingers against the glass and made a mental note to consult with Yao later about all this.

Though others were prone to dismiss their gut feelings as nothing, Ivan trusted his instincts as much as his well thought out plans. And his instincts were telling him that something was going to happen. Whether this something was bad or good, he could not tell yet. But he was sure something was going to happen. And he was not intending to just sit back and let it.

^ J ^

(Days earlier though not many)

Gilbert sat on top of his brother's desk with his legs hanging over the end, just brushing the floor. He swung his legs back and forth childishly as he grinned to himself. He reached down and took a stack of papers from his brother's desk and flipped through them lazily. Bills and finance reports were all that they were. He sighed and put them back in the same spot on the desk where they had been before.

Looking over his brother's things, he didn't notice a woman walk into the room. She stood next to him and cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. He turned his head quickly in surprise and almost fell off of the desk in surprise. When he saw the small, frowning dark haired woman, he calmed down and steadied himself back onto the desk.

"Oh, Ramona, what are you doing here?" he asked as he looked her up and down with a mocking tone to his voice.

"I came to see your brother."

"Oh." He did a little jump off of his brother's desk and straightened out the front of his suit. "He's not here right now; he's out on 'business'." He gave her a little wink when he said business as if it were top secret that he was the leader of a gang.

"But," he continued as he went behind his brother's desk, looked at a small cupboard near it and took out a bottle of Scotch and two small glasses. "I can take a message." He poured a bit into both glasses and passed one towards her.

"Want a drink?" he asked.

"I didn't come for fucking small talk, Gilbert." She said as disregarded the drink and glared at him.

He laughed "You never were the type." When he saw that she made no sign to laugh as well he stopped. "Fine, get to it then." He leaned against his brother's desk and swirled the glass he held in his right hand.

"What exactly do you think you're getting my sister into?"

He downed the glass quickly and grimaced as the taste hit him. He never did like the taste, but then again, he wasn't exactly drinking for the flavor. Gilbert cocked his head to the left and frowned "I don't understand."

"Of course you wouldn't." she said sternly "Let me tell you this as simply as I can put it, so your small brain can understand it, alright?"

Gilbert laughed but made no attempt to fire an insult back.

She walked closer to him and poked him in the chest as she continued, her voice unwavering and rigid. "Stay the fuck away from my sister."

He put his hands up in mock defeat. "Alright. I will….I still don't know what you mean though." He pushed her away gently and she slapped his hand away.

"I mean that just because I am in this gang does not mean she is. Feliciana is not cut out for this kind of shit. So just back the fuck off, alright?"

"You mean about the whole gang war going on?"

"Yeah. Leave her out of it."

He reached out and pulled the little curl that stuck up from her hair teasingly. "She has friends, Ramona, very valuable friends that could be a great help…Feliciana wanted to help, so we let her. She really is a sweet girl, not like you at _all_."

She slapped his hand away "I don't care what 'friends' she has, Gil. You stay the fuck away from her. She wasn't made for this kind of life."

"Hey, I never told your sister to date my brother. She got herself into this mess and now whether you like it or not, she's involved in our little world, Ramona."

"It stopped being 'our world' a while ago." She spat out angrily. Gilbert's face darkened and he moved away from her. Ramona instantly felt remorseful as she saw the look on his face and felt the tension grow in the room.

She groaned and rubbed her face "I didn't come to talk about this Gil, okay? Just tell me that you'll leave my sister out of this."

"Alright, alright. I'll talk to Lud." He said, still a little annoyed by her comment. It had taken a while to get over what had happened between them and he did not want to be reminded of it, especially not by the woman who caused it.

She reached for the drink he had offered her before and sat on the desk. She drank the whole glass and wiped her mouth with her sleeve when she finished."Thanks. And look, I'm sorry about what I said. It's not exactly something I like to talk about either."

He turned around and pecked her on the lips softly. She made no move to push him away, almost as soon as he had kissed her, he stopped and turned back around. She was about to yell at him when she just sighed and shook her head. There was no use anyway.

"Yeah, I know." He grinned "You know, that's probably the first time I have ever heard you apologize. You never did even when we were dating. Are you getting nice now?"

She smacked the back of his head and laughed "Are you kidding me?"

He laughed as well and bumped the side of the desk with leg, making it lurch top the side which caused Ramona to fall off.

"Good." He replied as he looked down at her on the ground "I like you better like that anyway."

She glared at him and took his hand when he offered it. He pulled her up and she leaned against the desk with him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what is this 'big' plan you have anyway?" she said softly. She didn't think anyone else could hear them, but just to be safe, she wanted to be as quiet as possible. Usually when Gilbert or Ludwig had a plan about anything concerning the gang, they kept it quiet with only the highest in the gang's hierarchy knowing.

Luckily for Ramona, she was with Ludwig almost as long as he had taken hold of the Axis gang. She didn't like him very much (mostly because of his dating her sister) but she respected him and he respected her as well. Ramona might even go so far as to say that one day, they may become acquaintances, though Ludwig already counted her as a friend. Maybe they were…

Gilbert and Ramona turned their heads quickly at the sound of footsteps as they made their way to the door. The thought about the big plans Gilbert had would have to wait. The door opened, revealing Ludwig, followed by Feliciana who was smiling as always. The odd thing that caught their attention though, was the fact that there was another person with them, one they had never seen before. And he was carrying a katana.

Standing with them was a short Asian man, a little taller than Feliciana. He had dark brown eyes that pierced through everything he looked at. Gilbert could feel his eyes pierce through him as he glanced at him and for no reason he could explain, felt shivers down his spine. He wore a white suit with a black shirt underneath, paired with a dark red tie, making that the only slightly exciting thing about this new stranger, other than the katana sheathed in a black and gold cover. The man gave a slow nod of the head and Gilbert eyed him suspiciously.

Gilbert glanced at Ramona and saw that she was glancing at him the same way he had. She also seemed to feel a little skeptical and apprehensive about this man. Ludwig shook his head a little when he saw Gilbert grin brightly, disregarding his usual behavior. He instead turned to look at Ramona "Ramona, what are you doing here?"

"I had to talk to you about something." She replied "But it can wait until later…" She decided this was not the best time, nor the best place to discuss the matter concerning her sister. She'd talk to Ludwig later when the new, strange man wasn't around.

Ludwig shrugged "Alright, just tell me what you need when you feel like it."

She nodded silently and looked at the Asian man that stood next to Feliciana. The whole time he hadn't said a word and kept the same indifferent, neutral look on his face. Feliciana was talking to him now, quickly and excitedly as always. The man didn't answer her, but nodded every now and then.

Ludwig followed her gaze until his eyes also reached the dark haired man.

"This is Kiku Honda." He introduced the man.

"Hello." Kiku said softly, not changing his expression. "It is nice to meet you."

"Hello." Gilbert and Ramona replied at the same time.

"Ludwig, what exactly is Kiku doing here?" he asked warily, not particularly caring if he was being rude. Ludwig frowned and was about to answer when Kiku put his hand on his arm, asking him silently if he could speak. Ludwig's eyes widened and he nodded to let Kiku say what he wanted.

"Your brother has hired me to carry out your plan." He said in his quiet manner.

Feliciana grinned and Ludwig nodded, confirming that Kiku was to help them. Ramona frowned and looked at Gilbert for an explanation, since she felt like the only one who didn't know what was going on (which she was). Gilbert raised and eyebrow and looked the small man up and down.

"_Him_?" he said skeptically. Gilbert wasn't sure about Feliciana's choice in friends, but he knew for sure that this man would not be of much help.

"I assure you that I am fully capable of carrying out any order you assign me diligently and to the best of my ability." Kiku responded. If he noticed the way Gilbert had rudely been talking to him, he made no sign of it.

"Gilbert, he knows what he's doing."

"Yeah, Kiku's great at what he does. I've known him for years and he's an amazing fighter." Feliciana confirmed. She patted Kiku on the back and he blushed bright pink. He looked down at the floor and played with the button on his jacket.

"No I'm not. But thank you Feliciana."

Feliciana hugged him making the poor man's face blush a dark red (whether it was embarrassment or lack of air, they could not tell) and looked at Gilbert and Ramona. "He's just being modest." She said happily.

Gilbert had a hard time believing the quiet, obviously shy man could be of any help to them. Ramona looked at Gilbert with an inquisitive glance. He gave her a look that meant he'd tell her later. She frowned and looked back at the man being hugged by her sister.

"Feliciana let him go." She ordered quietly. Feliciana shrugged her shoulders and did as she was told. The young man gasped a little for breath and covered his red face with his hands in embarrassment.

"Lud, let me talk to you for a minute." Gilbert half-asked half-ordered.

His brother looked at Ramona, Feliciana, and Kiku before nodding. "Can you excuse me, please?" he asked the group. Kiku nodded but the others didn't hear him or care.

Gilbert walked outside of the room and waved his brother over for him to follow. Gilbert walked slowly, following his brother as he walked around the circumference of the second floor of the large building. He stopped to lean over the railing and look down on the first floor, where a few of their men were chatting and Gilbert stopped with him.

"What is it, Gilbert?" he asked as he kept looking at the boring scene going on downstairs.

"It's that guy, Kiku. Do you honestly think _he's_ going to be of any help?" he laughed a little "I thought you were a better leader than that."

Ludwig frowned "You know I was never the leader Gilbert, that was always you." He replied bitterly "And I am the boss of the Axis, I'll decide who I want to employ, when and how."

Gilbert smirked "Of course. But don't forget the reason why you're leader, little brother. I could be leader of this gang whenever I want to, but I don't like to have that much responsibility. Just be happy that you have me to help you."

Ludwig turned his head and glared at his brother "If you want to be the leader, why didn't you take over. Everyone knows you are the better leader, it's obvious."

Gilbert shrugged "I told you, I don't have an interest in leading. It's too much work, too much responsibility, and too many headaches. No, I'd rather stay in the background and plan for you. Besides, you've always been better at giving orders."

"Let's not fight over this, Gil." Ludwig said sternly "Just tell me your concerns."

"My 'concerns' are that he doesn't look like he could kill a fly, let alone help us in any way. Come one Lud, he's almost as short as Feliciana and he got out of breath from her hugs!"

"To be fair, her hugs are like traps. Even I can't get out of them…" he mumbled. "But trust me; I was skeptical as well at first. But the man knows what he is doing."

"I don't know…"

"Fine." Ludwig pushed away from the railing and started walking away "If you won't believe me, see for yourself."

"What?"

"I told you, I will show you his skills. Come on," he walked back to the room they were in before and Gilbert followed behind him quickly.

Gilbert and Ludwig walked into the room to find Ramona sitting on top of the desk, covering her face with her hands as she mumbled curses over and over in her head. Kiku's face was somehow even redder than before as Feliciana talked quickly about something Gilbert and Ludwig did not even want to know about.

"Excuse me," Ludwig said slightly louder than his usual tone to get all of their attention. Ramona looked at Ludwig with a tired expression on her face and crossed her left leg over her right. She didn't even bother apologizing for her sister; he had enough experience with Feliciana and to be frank, she stopped feeling bad for him a while ago.

"Kiku, I know this is a bad time, but I would like to ask if you could possibly show my brother your skills."

Kiku shook his head "It is not a problem." He looked outside of the open door "But do you mind if we could go outside of this room? There is more room outside.

"Of course." Ludwig replied.

A few minutes later, they were all downstairs, with Ludwig sitting down on a comfortable brown couch with Feliciana on his lap and Gilbert seated next to him. The rest of the gang that was there, gathered around them, betting about who would win. Ramona stood next to Gilbert with a skeptical frown on her face and leaned against the couch as she watched Kiku take his katana out the sheath it was it. It made an unmistakable metallic ringing sound as it was unsheathed, and the light shone against the clear steel. He dropped the sheath on the floor and moved it out of the way with his foot.

A smug looking, dirty blonde haired man stood across from Kiku. He had volunteered happily to fight against him, as he thought it was impossible for the small man to even land a blow, let alone win a fight against him.

The man cracked his knuckles and cocked his head as he grinned at Kiku who stood in a firm stance, holding his sword steadily with both of his hands. The man had decided against using a gun, since it would be unfair and he didn't want to hurt him. Instead, he decided to use hand-to-hand combat.

Ludwig smiled and nodded for them to start whenever they were ready. The blonde man grinned and rushed forward, intending to make the fight a quick one. He pulled his fist back, aiming for Kiku's face and struck. Kiku side stepped him quickly, right before the man made contact with his face. The man flailed a little as he made contact with thin air and turned his head quickly to see Kiku standing behind him.

Kiku jumped down as the man angrily threw another punch and made contact with nothing. Kiku stayed crouched down and swept his right leg against the ground; hitting the man's left and making him trip over. The man fell forward but steadied himself before he could reach the ground. He turned back to Kiku, who was back in his original stance, holding his sword with both hands and waiting for him to make another move.

After what seemed like a few minutes, but was actually seconds, Kiku moved forward quickly and quietly, almost like a ghost. The man ran towards Kiku as well, ready to strike. Kiku spun around quickly before he could even throw a punch and slashed the man across the arm as he turned. The man's eyes widened and he touched his arm gingerly, only to look back at his fingers and see blood. He narrowed his eyes and muttered a curse in his throat.

This time, held his fists near his face and slowly rocked back and forth between his left and right foot as he made his way towards Kiku once more. Kiku held out his left hand and gripped his sword with the right .They circled each other, with neither making another move. All that was heard was the sound of the other man breathing heavily. He blinked and that was when Kiku struck. He breathed in deeply and swung his sword around quickly, catching the man off guard and cutting him a slash across the chest.

The man fell onto the floor with a thud and touched the place Kiku had just cut and grimaced as he felt blood trickle. He got up and stared at white shirt as it started to change to a wet red. The man cursed under his breath and rushed at Kiku once again, putting all of his force into the punch he was about to throw. Kiku swerved his head out of the way a few times and stepped backwards as the man threw punch after punch. When he tried to kick him in the stomach, Kiku grabbed his leg and twisted it. The man cried out as Kiku forced him to turn the other way. He pushed the man forward and he fell onto the floor in a heap.

Kiku stood over him, holding his sword in front of his face, daring him to come closer and re-try the fight. The men stared at the tip of the steel blade, not even an inch from his face and turned away signaling that he had lost and did not want to fight any longer.

He got up and walked through the crowd of men who were staring in awe at the dark haired man's display. Kiku stood in the center of the room, as quiet and shy as ever and looked right as Gilbert as he softly smiled.

Ludwig turned to Gilbert and smirked. "I said I knew what I was doing, Gil."

^ J ^

(Days later but not many)

"Toris, it's cold outside." Feliks mumbled into his hands as he tried warming them with his breath.

"That's the fifth time you've said that." Toris replied with a little smile.

They walked through the streets, making their way back to Toris' apartment. It was snowing again and the wind was brutal. Toris didn't mind it much, he liked snow but Feliks hated it, he preferred the spring when it was breezy but warm.

"But it's so freaking cold!" Feliks complained.

"I know, I know." Toris grabbed his boyfriend's hand and held it tightly as he tried to warm his fingers. Truthfully, Toris didn't know what to call their relationship, though boyfriend was the most fitting. Previously, Toris had been straight (he really couldn't tell what he was anymore) and had a huge crush on Ivan's sister. He went out with her for about a year, but they broke up because it just wasn't working out between them. Though they broke it off, Toris always did love her so he was devastated when she died.

Toris and Feliks had known each other for a long time, ever since Feliks had moved to America as a little boy. They were neighbors and later, best friends. Toris always did love Feliks, but as a brother. Feliks wasn't afraid to say that he loved Toris differently, and proclaimed his feelings for his friend very often. For a while, they continued to be friends, despite Toris not feeling the same way. Feliks didn't seem to mind too much, but he said that sooner or later they'd be together.

And Feliks was right. After Feliks got kicked out of his apartment three years ago, he went to live with his best friend, without the latter's consent of course. It was an odd morning for Toris when he woke up to Feliks in his bed, half naked and snoring. But Toris was too nice to say no to his best friend. Feliks moved in that same day and ever since they'd shared everything.

Toris wasn't sure how or when he started having feelings for his friend. Maybe it was that Feliks always shared a bed with him, despite having another bedroom, or because he walked on him in the shower too many time to be accidents, or even because he kissed him all the time…Either way, Toris was now dating his best friend. Now that Toris thought about it, it seemed that he always had been dating Feliks, even when they were children. It was odd and Toris still felt confused over the whole thing, but one thing was for sure, he loved his best friend.

He just needed to tell him that…It was easier said than done. Toris had been mulling it over for a long while, and he had made it up in his mind to ask Feliks to marry him. He felt the ring in his pocket and sighed. He'd been carrying it for a week now, and could not get the courage to propose no matter what. No matter what he planned or how he thought it over in his head, it always ended up going wrong.

It was driving him insane.

"Are we almost there?" Feliks asked between clattering teeth.

"Yes, almost home."

"You know, I bet it would be much warmer if I was wearing a coat."

"If you wore the right clothes, you wouldn't be so cold…Here."

Toris took his coat off and slipped it over Felik's shoulders. Feliks smiled as he felt the jacket on top of him and looked at Toris. "Wow Toris, you're like, so romantic!"

Toris just smiled and held onto his boyfriend's hand as they walked down the long sidewalk home. He was feeling a little better after the third failed attempt to propose. Feliks had no idea that Toris was desperately trying to ask for him to marry him, and just thought that he was being really romantic all of a sudden.

They crossed the street and took a left through one of the smaller streets in the West Village and continued down the quiet, vacant streets. The light shone down steadily on them, making it look like a faint glow.

Toris looked at Feliks out of the corner of his eye and smiled. He was smiling as well as he watched the snowflakes fall down .He reached his hand out into the light to try and catch the largest snowflake that was lazily drifting away. The way the light shone on him, it made him look like an angel and he almost seemed to shine…Toris could not remember now how could have never saw how beautiful he was…

Felik's green eyes sparkled as they were transfixed on the snowflake. A wider smile played on his lips and his cheeks blushed redder as a small gust of wind hit them. He laughed as he finally caught the snowflake in his hand. He turned to Toris and smiled triumphantly. How Toris wished it would snow all the time, just so he could hear Feliks laugh as he played with the snowflakes.

Feliks leaned his head on Toris' shoulder and sighed happily. "I love you."

Toris blinked in surprise and opened his mouth, though nothing but air came out.

_Now would be a good time to tell him. Do it now._

"I love you too, Feliks. And…And I was going to maybe ask you something, because I love you."

"What is it?" Feliks said contentedly.

"Um…well…"

Feliks suddenly turned his head around and his eyes widened. "Did you hear something?"

"W-what?" Toris asked. He hadn't been able to hear anything over his heart which sounded like it was going to burst.

"I just heard something weird…"

"Oh. Don't worry, I'm sure that it was nothing…" he mumbled. Toris tried to regain his courage and finish telling him how he felt. "Feliks I wanted-"

"There it is again. No, I totally hear something, Toris."

"It's New York, Feliks; there are a lot of noises. There is probably just someone being loud or a car or something,"

"Still, it sounded really freaking weird, Toris."

"If you want, we'll go through the smaller street in between the building, we'll get home faster like that."

Feliks nodded and they turned back around. They walked past the houses until they reached a row of small businesses. There was a sort of sidewalk between them and another row of businesses. It was too big to be an alleyway, but too small to be street. It was perfect for a shortcut, though, since it went right through the rows upon rows of houses, which people usually had to walk around.

"Yeah…you're right. It just like really weird…" he looked back at Toris and cocked his head "What were you gonna say?"  
"Right…well I meant to say-"

Toris stopped talking when he heard someone behind them. He instinctively turned around to let that person walk ahead of them since they were strolling down the street quite slowly.

Horrible mistake.

The man was dressed quite oddly, all in black, with a black scarf that covered his mouth and part of his nose. Though he had no coat on he did not seem to be cold. He wore black gloves as well, on both of his hands, though one was behind his back, gripping onto something tightly.

The man behind them didn't walk past them, no, he stayed right near them.

Trois frowned and moved himself and Feliks to the other side of the street, so the man could walk through without being bothered.

He didn't walk in front of them. Instead he turned to face them. Feliks' eyes widened as he saw the man pull his hand out from behind his back, bringing along with it, a katana.

Feliks and Toris backed away slowly, but could only go so far, since their backs faced the buildings. They were trapped.

Toris pushed Feliks behind him and stood his ground in a rigid stance. The man dressed in all black held his sword tightly in both hands but did not strike him.

Instead he looked at Feliks, who was now standing next to Toris.

"Get behind me, Feliks." Toris ordered quietly. This was a horrible time for Feliks to be his usual stubborn self, but as Toris dreaded, he refused.

The man in black lunged for Feliks, but Toris stepped back while simultaneously pulling Feliks back as well. He stepped in front of Feliks once again and tried punching the man. The man dodged it almost lazily and slashed Toris across the chest with his sword.

"Toris!" Feliks exclaimed from behind him.

Toris' eyes widened but he didn't pay attention to the blood now dripping down his chest, through his shirt. Feliks pulled away and stepped in front of him.

"Let's go, then." He mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for the man to hear. The man said nothing but raised his sword once more, preparing to strike.

He moved forward towards Feliks and slashed his left arm. Feliks cried out in pain but in the time the man was moving his sword, he was able to land a punch square in his face. The man stumbled back and Feliks gripped his arm to try and stop the blood that was now running down from the wound.

Toris moved forwards and tried punching the man as well but was knocked back once more with another small cut to the face. He stumbled back and hit his head against the wall, making him fall onto the floor, in a heap.

Feliks turned around and saw Toris rubbing his head as he dizzily tried standing up. He looked back at the man and his eyes narrowed in anger. He moved forward and tried kicking the man in the stomach, but his leg was caught in the man's grip before he could land a blow. His eyes widened and he called out Toris' name for help. Toris held against the wall and stumbled yet again as he tried desperately to regain his sense of balance.

The man in black held out his sword with his free hand and pulled Feliks towards him.

Toris' eyes widened as he heard a shrill scream from the same lips that had just been laughing a moment ago.

"Feliks!"

For a moment, Feliks stared into the man's dark eyes; nothing showed in them, they were blank and clear. Then he looked down at the sword stuck in his abdomen. He let out a low groan and swayed to the right as he tried to stand up straight. The man narrowed his eyes and let go of Felik's other leg and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He lifted his leg and kicked Feliks back, pulling his sword out of the man's body at the same time.

Feliks fell onto the floor with a sickening thud. Toris scrambled to get up and used the wall near him to steady himself. The man walked closer to him, with his sword still being held tightly as crimson blood dripped from it. He looked Toris in the eyes as he pulled out a white handkerchief and cleaned the blood off of his sword in one wipe. He let the white cloth fall to the floor and shifted his gaze back to Feliks, who was groaning in pain.

Toris tried landing a punch, but his arm was quickly caught in the man's grip. The man held his sword near Toris' abdomen in warning."Who are you?" Toris spat angrily. He tried to struggle out of the man's grip but he was too strong. Toris watched in fear as the man studied him closely, almost as if contemplating whether or not to kill him. His dark eyes studied him and Feliks' blood that was splattered on his face dripped down his forehead.

The man didn't answer but instead pushed Toris onto the floor. He stood over him, with the sword being held a few inches from his neck.

"A life for a life." was all the man said. He turned and left just like that, silently just as he had come, back into the night.

Toris scrambled up as soon as the man had gone and worked his way over to his boyfriend's still figure. "Feliks? Feliks, speak to me." He said as tears welled in his eyes. In front of him, was his sweet, dear Feliks, lying in a small pool of his own blood that was growing larger and larger. The wound in his arm was deep, and it bled down to his wrists, painting his body a dark red. But the worst was the deep cut in his stomach. It had bled through Feliks' shirt and it was definitely deep as well.

He fell down next to his boyfriend and held his head in his lap. "Feliks, Feliks, please be okay…"

Feliks groaned softly in response. Toris' eyes widened and he pulled Feliks into his lap, making Feliks groan louder in pain.

"Feliks just hold on, alright. I will get you to a hospital. You'll be fine."

"Toris…" Feliks said quietly. Blood dripped down his lips from his mouth. Tears streamed down Toris cheeks. "It's cold…" he continued.

"Here, Feliks." Toris cried quietly as he reached for his jacket that had fallen off in the fight. He laid it across his boyfriend. As he spread it across him, something fell out, making a soft metallic tinkle.

Feliks reached down with his good hand to the place where the object had fallen and lifted it close to his face. "A ring…?" he mumbled quietly. More blood splattered from his mouth as he spoke. He looked at Toris and smiled.

"I-I wanted to ask you…to m-marry me…" Toris choked out in between sobs.

"…Yes…" Feliks said softly.

"W-what…?"

"I'll….marry you." He said with a small smile.

Tears streamed down both their faces now. Feliks closed his eyes and with the strength he could muster lifted his shoulders and propped himself up on his good arm. Toris bowed his head down to meet him halfway and kissed him. Salty tears streamed down their faces as they kissed and a sob was heard from Toris.

"I love you…always…" he looked at Toris "D-do you love me….?"

"I l-love you too. I will always love you, Feliks..." he assured him.

Feliks nodded. "I am s-so happy…" He smiled at Toris and touched his face softly. His eyelids started to droop closed and his breathing slowed even further. Toris could barely feel his heartbeat now.

Toris sobbed "Feliks stay awake! Don't leave me…Don't leave me! I love you, don't leave me…."

He held Feliks close and felt another breath and another heartbeat softly. Then, nothing. He cried as he held his boyfriend close.

"Feliks! Feliks, don't leave me, please!" Nothing came from the limp body in his arms. His eyes were closed, and they wouldn't shine and sparkle in the soft glow of the moonlight. Nothing came from the mouth that he had kissed so many times, not even to laugh at the snowflakes.

Now the same snowflakes seemed to be mocking them as they fell lazily down, without a care. They fell and covered Feliks' cold body, and they fell and mingled with the blood dripping down. The snowflakes fell against Toris' exposed skin. But most of all they pricked at his heart that was now broken beyond repair.


	24. That's What Friends Do

Hello guys. I hope you had a nice week while I was gone. I had a pretty good birthday, got a few presents (including a Hetalia wall scroll, some tee shirts, and a Russia plushie), some money, and went to Dylan's Candy Bar for some sweets, so it was a nice weekend. And now I'm addicted to listening to the Gorillaz…it's really not healthy to be liking a band this for this chapter, I don't think it'll be very long, so sorry after being gone a week and giving you a short chapter but I don't have much to work with right now. So here's the new chapter:

Chapter: 24

(Ivan's POV)

The funeral was held on the first day of February. It was somber day, with a low fog and soft gray clouds only making the day even sadder. He was laid in a black coffin and a grave was dug in the cemetery Natalia, his father, and Ivan's father were buried. Ivan thought it was for the best that he was with his father; they were so close when he was alive. There were many people at Feliks' funeral; he was well liked and loved by all he met. Most stood silently with their heads bowed in mourning, but sobs could be heard from his closest friends and relatives. It was a sea of black that surrounded the coffin as a priest prayed for Feliks to have a life free of pain in heaven.

He looked at Toris, who was standing beside Eduard. Eduard put his arm around his shoulder in a comforting way and patted him gently on the back. Toris didn't bother looking at him or anyone. He stared down at the coffin of his best friend, his boyfriend and what was supposed to be his husband and cried quietly. Tears fell down his face as the fog started to become a drizzle of rain.

Ivan looked at Toris and sighed. Toris had the worst burden of all to deal with. He'd known Feliks for almost as long as Ivan did. Ivan remembered playing with the both of them as children. The two got along like brothers and shared everything, their toys, their friends, and their secrets. Feliks and Toris were always so close so it came as no surprise when Toris talked to Ivan about marrying him. Ivan remembered how Toris' voice trembled when he asked if it was okay to marry Feliks. Since Feliks had no father to ask about marriage, Ivan was the next option.

Ivan had laughed and patted him on the back roughly as he answered that he knew that they would be married. Katyusha was just as happy for them and she eagerly awaited their wedding.

Now there would be no wedding for them. There would be no celebration, no cake, no toast or happy congratulations given to them. No, there would just be Toris, all alone left to deal with Feliks' death.

Toris sensed that someone was looking at him and he glanced up to meet Ivan's gaze. The two locked eyes, with Toris welled up with tears. Ivan wished he knew what to say or do…

_I have been to so many funerals and yet I still do not know how to deal with them._

If he wasn't so distraught, he'd laugh bitterly. It was a little sad really, how many people he loved had died. It was almost to be expected that something bad would happen…it was a while since his last funeral and as of late, he'd been having a voice in the back of his mind warning him that something was coming. If only he had listened to it instead of being blinded by his work.

Old feelings of guilt bubbled up to the surface, guilt he had tried to forget. No matter how hard he tried to forgive himself it would be a feeling that would linger on, as it always did.

As he looked at the other funeral-goers, all dressed in black and tearing up he felt self conscious. He had cried before when he first heard of Feliks' death, but now try as he might, the tears wouldn't come. It seemed as if he had run out of them lately. He wasn't sure whether it was a blessing not to feel the pain, or a curse.

He heard a choked sob to his left and turned to hug his sister closer to him. Katyusha had taken the death of cousin just as hard as Toris and she had been silent ever since she had heard of his death from him. She held onto her younger brother tightly as Feliks was lowered into the grave, coffin and all. Now Ivan wished he knew what to do.

He didn't know what to say to make anything better. What could he say or do? He didn't dare say that everything would be okay, that old line meant nothing and it didn't help at all. No matter what, Feliks would be dead and the dead do not rise up once they die.

Alice stood on the other side of him quietly. She looked out of place as she bowed her head and muttered a prayer quietly as Katyusha did. A few tears had fell down her cheeks before when she learned of Feliks' death, but now she stood rigidly still next to her husband, looking away from the mourners and down at her feet. For some reason he couldn't quite place, her presence angered Ivan to an extent he hadn't felt for a while. She didn't belong there at the funeral, she didn't deserve that privilege.

He looked on her with disdain and she stared back at him, doe eyed and confused. He let go of Katyusha and whispered for her to excuse him and walked towards the other side of the crowd of people, where there was hardly anyone. He turned and gestured for Alice to follow. She walked after him quickly, and stood in front of him with a questioning expression.

"Get out of here." Ivan ordered when he was sure that they were out of earshot by any of the mourners.

Alice's eyes widened as she was taken aback by the scorn in his voice. "What?" Her questioning expression now turned to that of confusion.

"Leave." He said angrily in a hushed voice "You do not deserve to be here."

Alice frowned at him, but her face softened as realization hit her.

_He is just hurting; it had nothing to do with me._

"I know that it hurts," she said slowly." I understand…" she gave him an apathetic glance and reached to touch his arm in a comforting gesture. Ivan pulled her wrist away from him. Alice stared at him in disbelief, and held her wrist close to her chest. He had never grabbed her so roughly before and he was never this angry at her.

"Go."

"He was my friend, Ivan. I want to say goodbye like everyone else!" she said, louder than she meant to.

Ivan's face flushed and he held back the words of anger he wanted to say "Pay your respects quickly. Tell my sister that you feel ill and leave with Eduard." It was not a question, but an order.

Alice narrowed her eyes at him, her blue eyes full of rage "Feliks would not have wanted this, Ivan." She paused a moment "But I'll go, so I won't make a scene here. I'm leaving for Katy and Toris and Feliks. Not _you._" She spat the word 'you' out as if it were poison in her mouth.

She glared at Ivan "And don't you ever order me around, _ever._" She straightened her coat and left him alone to be angry by himself.

After the funeral was over, and most of the other guests had left, Ivan, Katyusha, and Toris lingered on a little longer to pay their respects without the crowd. Ivan stared at the freshly turned over Earth atop of his grave as Katyusha whispered a soft prayer quietly. Toris glanced at the ring he wore on his hand. He had put Feliks' ring on him to be buried, to say to anyone that though they never were able to make it official, they loved each other and always would.

He laid a bouquet of a wide arrange of flowers on his grave. Feliks always did like flowers; he could never choose one he liked best.

Ivan said a quick prayer as well. He was never good with those types of things, saying goodbye was always hard for him and saying goodbye forever was the hardest of all.

He hugged Toris and kissed his sister on the cheek. "Go home, the both of you. There is nothing else we can do here…"

Toris' eyes were red from crying but his face looked tired. He looked at the grave and at Ivan, contemplating whether he should go or not. Katyusha held his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Come, Toris." She gave a quick nod to her brother "Ivan is right. We'll just make ourselves sick from this weather if we stay out any longer…"

Toris glanced at the grave once more before nodding slowly. Katyusha led him away by the hand and said something that Ivan could not quite make out as they walked away.

Ivan watched his sister and friend walk towards the entrance of the cemetery and watched as one by one, the mourners left in their cars. He looked back on Feliks' grave and shook his head.

He touched the smooth grey stone and sighed.

"I am so so sorry, Feliks. I should have known, I should have known that they would have wanted revenge…why didn't I listen to myself…?"

"It's not your fault Ivan."

Ivan turned quickly in surprise. Standing in front of him was Francis, with an uncharacteristically somber look on his face.

"I thought you all left." Ivan said softly. He felt a little embarrassed that Francis had heard his conversation, it was meant to be a private one.

Francis immediately picked on it. "It wasn't your fault, Ivan. And there is no need to be embarrassed for what you feel, just don't blame yourself for something you could not have known would happen."

Ivan shook his head "I knew they wanted revenge and I did nothing."

"How were you to know that they would kill him, Ivan? None of us expected that, none of us."

"I should have. I am the leader of the Allies, it is my job to know-"

"To know what exactly?" Francis patted him on the back softly "The future? No one could have known, not me, or Toris, and not you."

"But it was me. I killed his brother, I brought this on…and Feliks had to pay for my stupidity."

Francis sighed "Ivan, I am not going to question your decision, because what's done is done and we cannot change the past…but it was not you who killed him, the Centrals did."

Ivan sighed and rubbed his eyes. He knew deep down that Francis was right, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was the only one to blame. It was always that way with him. Some couldn't take responsibility for their actions, Ivan was the opposite; he took responsibility for everything and felt guilty for anything that went wrong that was somehow connected to him. It was the flaw he hated most, and the one he could not change no matter how he tried…

He looked down at the gravestone and touched the flowers that lay on top of it gingerly. Feliks had done nothing to deserve this, it was the Centrals and his own fault…Either way, something had to happen.

He looked at Francis and saw that he was looking back at him, expectantly, waiting for Ivan's next command.

Ivan glanced at the grave once more before looking at Francis.

"The Centrals made a huge mistake. I told them before that that if they said anything bad about my family that I would kill them…" he said quietly "But now they have killed my Feliks, who was like a brother to me. They will wish that I only killed them. When I am through with them, they will wish they never messed with the Allies."

"But you do know," Francis said "That it was one person who killed Feliks."

"Oh I know," Ivan replied "I will find him and kill him myself."

"Are you sure…?" Francis asked. He knew the answer. Once his friend made up his mind, there was hardly any way to change it. It was a feeble attempt on his part to keep his friend from getting hurt.

"Francis, if someone killed…" he paused as he tried to think of someone important to Francis "I don't know, Alice. You like her, yes?" Francis frowned but gave him a curt nod "Well what if someone killed her? What would you do?"

Francis face darkened at the thought of someone hurting her. "I would find whoever had killed her and kill them myself." He said, mostly to himself. He was a little surprised at himself for the tone he said that in, but Alice was his oldest friend and even though they hadn't talked or seen each other for years, he felt like it was his job to help her. Because, as overplayed and overused as the line was: that is what friends do.

Ivan nodded "And that is what I will do for Feliks. Because we are family. And because no one will make a fool out of him, me, or the Allies."

Francis nodded. "Then I will help you."

"You have to help me, you work under me."

"I know, I meant that I am doing this because I want to, because I want to help you. Not because I was ordered to and not because my job depended on it, though it sort of does." He chuckled at the last part of what he had said, but instantly stopped as he remembered where they were and how disrespectful he was being. "Sorry."

A small smile played on Ivan's lips. It was the first time he had smiled for what seemed like a long time. "Why would you do that?" he asked softly.

"Because we're friends, and that is what friends do."

"Friends help friends kill people?" Ivan asked. He started walking away from the grave and Francis followed him.

"No, only the best of friends do that."

^ J ^

(Alice's POV)

"Thanks for the ride, Eduard." Alice said politely as she sat in the passenger seat of Eduard's Chrysler 200.

"It's not a problem, Alice." He replied back just as politely.

Most of the ride had been a little awkward and quiet. Usually, Alice would just account it for them not being very close, but she could have changed that with a few jokes and a good conversation. But today was different; there had been a funeral, so everyone was being a little more somber than usual.

"Were you close to him?" Eduard asked, trying to make conversation.

"We didn't know each other long, so no. But he was a friend, well my only friend other than Francis and later, Katy…" she stopped talking since it became hard for her to imagine her friend dead "What about you, Eduard? You must've known him for a while, right?"

Eduard nodded "Toris and I are like brothers, I knew him almost as long as Feliks did; we even used to share an apartment, Toris and I. So since Toris knew Feliks, I knew him too. He was a really nice person…he didn't deserve this."

"He didn't, Eduard, no one does. I hope they find whoever mugged and killed him and put them in a cell forever." She finished angrily.

Eduard frowned a moment when he heard about the criminal who "mugged" Toris and Feliks. _Oh that's right…we told her that he was mugged and killed."_

"Me too…" he agreed.

"Do you think the police have any ideas about who it could have been?"

"Um…" he didn't want to lie, in case someone told her differently, "I'm not sure, really."

"But they asked Toris to make a description of the killer, right?"

Eduard chewed on his lip "I am not sure, I think they already have…?"

"Oh."

"Ivan told me that you could help me find your brother?" Eduard said, trying to steer away from that conversation.

"Oh, yeah. He said we could meet up one day and talk about it."

"Why not now? If that's okay with you, I mean. There's a lot of traffic, and we are a long way from your apartment."

Alice chewed on her lip as Eduard had done before.

"I wouldn't tell anyone anything you said. You can trust me on this; I just need it to find him, Alice. And your help would really speed things up, since I have almost nothing on him."

Alice nodded "No, I didn't think you would have…It's just, it's hard to tell someone I don't know very well."

"I'm impartial, Alice and I won't judge you."

"Thank you." She sighed "Where do I begin….?"

"The beginning is usually a good place to start, though I'm pretty partial to that, since I always start that way…"

Alice chuckled "I guess I'll start with Mattie and I as kids…"

^ J ^

(Ivan's POV)

Alice had come back to the apartment a few minutes earlier when Ivan got a call on his cell phone from Eduard.  
"Hello?" Ivan asked tiredly. He hadn't been sleeping well lately (and by lately, that meant the last 25 years of his 25 year life).

"Hey Ivan," Eduard said, with a hint of happiness to his voice "I had lice tell me about her life…She talks a lot, you know…"

"Yes, she tends to do that. But I am pretty sure you've called for more than a simple hello."

"No, not at all. But I just wanted to give you a bit of an update." The sound of keys hitting the board or a keyboard was heard faintly as Eduard muttered something about the internet being slow "

"Well?"

"I've found some things on him, mostly records from school and a few doctor visits, but it was more than before."  
"Well that is good. Thank you…"

"Ivan! Wait!"

"What?" he muttered angrily as he rubbed hi forehead and searched for aspirin for his headache.

"I just wanted to let you know more one thing: you have no idea how much Alice had been through. She's one of the strongest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet."

Ivan frowned "What exactly did she tell you?"  
Eduard didn't answer "She and I have made a deal not to tell anyone. And I intend to honor that promise we made."

"And why would you do that?" he paused "You do know that you'll have to tell me if I order you to…"

"Because," Eduard replied "that's what friends do."

-Sorry for the short chapter. I promise that the next one will be better and longer. Thanks for reading, as always! Bye guys! See you next week.


	25. So Much For Forgetting

Hello duckies. Sorry for the short chapter last time. I lost motivation so I kinda half-assed it. Anyway, I'll revise it soon enough (even though you guys seemed to like my half-assed chapter for some reason, thank you). Thanks to you guys who wished me a happy birthday! It was very nice of you. I got new gorillaz limited edition converses with Murdoc's face on them. They are my pride and joy…Oh and I finished game of thrones! Let me just say that these books will be the death of me. They are way too good for their own good …. I guess that's all? It seems these things are getting shorter and shorter by the update…I guess here's the new chapter? Huh…

CHAPTER: 25

"Where are _you_ going?" Alice spat out. She said the word you with so much distaste that it surprised Ivan. He never saw her angry before. He didn't like it.

"Out." He murmured loudly enough so she could hear. He walked towards the door, grabbing his coat and scarf as he passed the row of hooks near the door.

Alice opened her mouth to respond but shut it quickly. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was interested about where he was going to. Not that she cared, because that ship had sailed when he made her leave the funeral almost a week and a half ago. Since then, they hadn't said anything to each other, well, nothing besides the occasional "fuck you" or well thought over string of insults.

Now that ship that had sailed was now sunk. There was no way she was going to let this die down quietly.

Alice could barely see why she thought he was nice before. The sweet smile he had worn was gone along with his kind words and well meaning humor. Now he was cold as ice and he seemed to hate her more with each passing day. She would feel sad about that if the feeling hadn't been growing mutual as of late.

Before she could open her mouth again to possibly ask where he was off to, the front door was slammed closed with a loud sound that made Alice almost fall from the chair she was sitting in.

Alice rolled her eyes and muttered a "fuck you." At her husband who was no longer there.

^ J ^

Ivan needed to do something.

He had never been the type to deal with emotions well, he usually covered up his feelings with smiles. And when that was too hard (which hardly happened) alcohol was another thing that did the trick.

He wouldn't call himself an alcoholic, though he had drank a lot right after he left college to become the boss of the Allies (he drank a lot, but not too much to let him not be able to function). He had gotten wasted too many times to count and had done a few stupid things, but never anything very harmful. He mostly hurt himself when he was drunk so he was fine with drinking alone.

Usually, he would have called Arthur and share a few shots with him. The Brit was a great drinking buddy, even if he got drunk too quickly. Arthur never failed to make things more interesting…Now that he thought about it, most of the stupid things he had done while drunk were due to the insistent prompting of his beyond wasted friend.

But right now, he wanted to be alone.

_Drink away the thoughts._

He reminded himself this little chant he always said in his head. It had worked many a time, and it would work many more.

Another shot was downed. Another burning taste went down his throat. That was his favorite part, the little burning sensation that he felt as he swallowed it. He frowned a little as he put the glass down and saw that there wasn't another glass to replace it.

"Another round of shots, please." He asked the bartender. His voice slurred slightly but he knew that he would not be leaving any time soon. Not until he couldn't remember the year it was and where he lived.

The bartender eyed him suspiciously. Ivan had been there a while, drinking by himself, requesting new shots to replace the ones he drank every so often. He was not a rowdy drunk, to be sure, but he was a hardy one. It always took him a while to get to the level of 'staggering-home-with-no-wallet-and one shoe' dunk that he so wanted to achieve, so he was used to bartenders eyeing him before preparing more glasses for him to empty.

Luckily for him, this particular bartender didn't ask any questions. He frowned a little at Ivan but nodded and turned around to grab another bottle to pour him another round all for himself. Ivan checked his phone to see what time it was.

1:00 AM.

He wondered if Alice was worried about him, but laughed inwardly at the prospect of that. He had done a good enough job of pushing the girl away (literally) and he really doubted that she would give a shit as to where he was. Especially after what had happened earlier. If she was smart, she would stop caring about him. Maybe eventually, she'd leave his thoughts…

Another shot, another thought that left his mind.

Feliks was what occupied his mind most. Poor Feliks. His entire fault. Why did they have to kill him? More importantly, why couldn't he have seen this coming? Ivan prided himself on knowing everyone's moves before they even thought of them…How could he have not seen this coming?

Feliks didn't deserve to die. He was innocent, it was Ivan who had picked up that gun and killed Alexander's brother. Feliks did nothing. And yet, _he_ had to die.

Another shot, another tear that he wiped away quickly.

Now what had happened before was getting hazy….

(HOURS EARLIER)

The days that followed the funeral were not any better than the day of it. Eduard had hoped that Ivan would gain a new understanding of Alice from the conversation they had, but sadly, he was not going to change his feelings for her.

Alice meanwhile, was left in the dark about everything. She couldn't understand what she had done to make him lash out like that…

"Hey Ivan…" Alice said softly. She had forgiven him about yelling at her not long after their fight. She knew it was only the grief that had made him act that way. And though she did not enjoy being yelled at, she had decided to let it slide because of the circumstances.

"You know, you shouldn't watch the news…It'll just make you even more sad…."

He didn't answer her; he continued to watch the news with a blank expression as he smoked on a cigarette. He let the cigarette hang out of his mouth as he blew a waft of gray smoke almost mechanically.

Alice frowned. Of course he wasn't going to answer her, that son of a-

No. He was just hurting, that was all. Alice had had people leave on her too, she knew the feeling. At that time, all she wanted was for someone to understand her. And that is what Ivan needed. Right now, Ivan needed someone to show him some empathy. And Alice was going to show him some whether he liked it or not. She'd shove empathy down his throat if that is what it took.

She cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. She looked at him but he didn't even seem to hear her.

Alice muttered a curse under her breath. No, she need to calm down, he was going through some tough stuff. She didn't know much about his life, but from what she had picked up on from talking to Katyusha and him on some occasions, she knew that this wasn't the first time he had someone die on him.

She just needed to make him understand that she knew what he felt, and that she was there. Even if he didn't want to talk, she'd be there to show him that even though it hurt, that it would get better…

Alice got up from the couch and walked over to him. She stood in front of the TV, blocking his view. She frowned at him, with her arms crossed over her chest as she looked down at the man who looked like in Alice's words, "absolute shit on a stick".

He finally noticed that she was there and blinked in confusion as the view of the TV was blocked by Alice's frame. He blinked again and then looked up at her slowly, as if he had never seen her before.

For a moment, Alice was almost sure she saw something she never had in his face. He looked vulnerable, like a child...But that couldn't be, could it? He was too…well, too Ivan. He was all smiles and condescending smirks. Vulnerability was something he _never_ showed. Alice knew that much.

And yet…

His eyes were wide, and though they were red (from what looked like crying and lack of sleep, though Alice guessed it was more of the latter) and he smelled like a bar (she didn't remember the last time she saw him without a drink in his hands) and looked a bit pale (Alice guessed that staying in one spot for so long would do that to you) he sort of looked helpless, like a child.

Alice had to help him. Because that's what…well she didn't know what to call their relationship…but she had to help him, because that was what was right. And Alice always did what was right.

"Oh Ivan…" she sighed. Her face softened from the frown she was wearing before to a look of tired determination. She sat next to him and looked at him for some sort of sign that he was listening.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Another cloud of grey smoke escaped his lips, furling and swirling as it made its way through the air. Alice was losing her patience.

_Stay calm, Alice. Be the bigger man. Even if you're not a man. And you're shorter. And he's DEFINITELY bigger than you….Wait what were you supposed to do again…?_

"Hey Ivan, it's Alice….your…wife…" she still hated saying the word 'wife'. It didn't feel right. She doubted that it ever would. But hey, maybe it would get his attention.

He finally turned to look at her after taking a particularly long smoke of his cigarette.

"What?" he asked. Alice could be dense every now and then, but she was sure that she heard some of an annoyed in his voice mixed with a bit of tiredness.

"Finally." She breathed "Listen…" she put her hand on his that was next to her. He didn't move it away, but Alice could tell that he wasn't exactly thrilled by the gesture. "I know what you're going through okay. I just-"

He pulled his hand away from hers in a flash, making Alice pull back in surprise. He glared at her like never before and despite herself, Alice was a little scared.

The vulnerability Alice thought she saw was gone. Now she _knew_ it was never there. It was stupid for her to guess that he was actually a person, how stupid of her.

"You have no fucking idea what I am going through."

"I just want to help, okay?" she patted him on the back gently. Couldn't he see that she knew what he was going through? She just wanted to help! Alice sighed "When I was really little, my-"

"Don't touch me. And I don't give a shit about your life, alright? So…just leave me alone."

_It's just the alcohol talking._

Alice tried to calm herself down. "I know you think that I don't, but I have a lot of really wrong shit that went down in my life, so I understand-"

"No, you do not. Stop trying to make yourself understand, alright? You are not a "hero"; I do not need any help. And I do not need any sympathy, least of all from _you._ So stop trying to wedge yourself into my problems and stop trying to fix them!"

Alice sucked in a breath through her teeth angrily. He was really starting to push her buttons now.

"I'll let that 'comment' pass because you're going through some shit right now," Alice said angrily "And I really do want to help you! And I'm not trying to be sympathetic. I'm trying to be…Oh, what's the word? Ugh, I was never great with this kinda thing! But I can help with your problems, you just gotta let me-"

Ivan got up angrily, dropping his cigarette as he did so and slamming the remote down on the floor.

"Stop trying to help me! You are the problem! It's you!" Ivan yelled "Everything, _everything_ bad that happened lately has been made even worse because of you! Not me, not Katyusha, and definitely not Feliks. And you make the problems _you_ cause worse, not better! So do not try to fucking fix anything _you _made worse!"

Alice got up as well. That was _it. _She was done trying to help. He didn't deserve it.

"How the fuck am _I_ the problem?!" she asked just as loudly "What exactly have I done?"

_God how I wish I could tell her. Maybe then she could shut up for once!_

"Ever since I fucking married you, everything has been going wrong! So yes, you have caused it! You don't even know half of the things that happened because of you!"

"_I'm _the cause of all your problems?! You're fucking insane! I didn't do anything but try and help you!"

"And your 'helping' just makes things worse! _Just like now!_"

"Fine! You don't my help, then I won't help you! _Because you are way too far beyond helping_!"

That shut Ivan up quickly. He had another retort; actually he had a few of them lined up in his mind like ammo, ready to be shot at her anytime. He could have commented about how annoying she was, how much of a burden she was, how she made everything worse…But all of them were forgotten when she said that.

There was nothing too extraordinary about his wife, Ivan thought. Sure, he made her angry now and then, but never to a very high extent. It was fine, a lot of people made him angry, she was just another added to the list. It was also fine that she hated him; he liked it better that way actually.

But this, this was not fine.

There was nothing too extraordinary about his wife, Ivan thought…Nothing except that fact that a few words she said could make him so…angry.

_Because you are way too far beyond helping! _

It rang in his head loudly, as if she was yelling it at him even now.

"Nothing to say?" Alice said angrily, obviously satisfied that she made him shut up. "You can't say anything because it's true! And _that's _why you are trying to make me-"

Before Alice even realized what had happened, Ivan was standing over her, holding her by her wrist tightly so she couldn't move. She glared at him as she tried to pull herself away from him.

"Let me go!" She punched at him with her other hand that wasn't trapped in his grasp. Despite Ivan moving out of the way, she landed a few punches, a few which would have definitely hurt if Ivan was too angry to even feel.

He raised his other hand quickly and Alice flinched a little as she tried pulling away from him even more. She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact she was sure she'd feel.

Ivan was about to slap her when he actually looked at her. She was struggling to remove herself from him and her hand was shielding her face in anticipation for the hitting she was sure she would get.

What was he doing?

He wanted to hurt her. He really did, badly. To slap her so she'd fall on the floor, because that comment had just been the icing on the cake of insults. He really wanted to. He wanted to because she was right. And it hurt to know it.

But he couldn't.

He lowered his hand slowly to his side. After a moment, Alice opened her eyes after she felt nothing and glared at him once more. She lowered the arm that was shielding her face. She tried to leave his grasp once more, but his grip had not gotten any looser.

"You know," she spat angrily "I though _I _was a problem for a quick minute. I thought, somehow, _I_ was the cause of why you were so angry…How stupid of me!"

Ivan didn't answer, but continued to stare at her with hate in his eyes. _That _just made things worse. He needed to leave before he said anything stupid, before he did anything stupid. Alice tried pulling away again, leaning back as she pulled at her wrist.

He let go of her, making her fall to the floor. She fell with a sickening thud and hit her head on the end table, right at the corner of the wood, where it was at its pointiest. Ivan's eyes widened, he didn't mean to hurt her, he just wanted to go away before anything worse happened! He rushed towards her to see if she was alright. She glared up at him and touched the back of her head, where it hit the end of the table. As she looked at her hand, with the tips of her fingers covered in blood, Ivan shook his head as he tried to apologize.

"Alice! Are you alright? I didn't mean to push you." He offered his hand in a desperate attempt to calm her down.

Alice got up on her own "You fucking pushed me!"

That was _it._

Alice got up and punched him in the stomach, making him groan._ That _was definitely going to hurt in the morning… Ivan moved away from her, backing into a wall as he held up his arm to deflect the punches she threw at him.

"Alice I did not mean to hurt you! You fell because you were pulling away!" he yelled over her as she cursed at him.

She landed a punch to his nose, making it bleed furiously. That one really hurt. Now he was pissed.

Ivan raised his hand and struck her across the face with a sickening slap that rang through the room. She fell on the floor once more and blinked in surprise.

What had he done?

Blood trickled from her now broken lip and she touched it with her hand. She looked at Ivan in surprise, her eyes wide. Blood dripped down from her nose as well and she wiped it away with the back of her hand as she spit out a bit of blood that had gotten in her mouth. Ivan just stood in front of her, eyes wide at what he had done. He didn't _want _to hurt her, she just…she just…made him so angry. She had hurt him before…

_She's not as strong as you. You could really hurt her._

… He didn't mean to hurt her…

She got up, stumbling a little and ran at him. Ivan could have moved out of the way, but he didn't. He stayed still and let her hit him back. A blur of punches came at him; well aimed ones that made his face covered in bruises and made his nose bleed even worse. She yelled curses and insults and words Ivan didn't bother hearing as blood ran down her nose. Ivan away from her.

He never wanted to hurt her.

Another punch came as if in slow motion, right for his cheek but he caught her wrist just in time. He held her other wrist in his other hand.

"Alice calm down!"

"Leave me alone! Let me go!"

Alice struggled to be free and yelled at him again and again until finally Ivan let go of her. Ivan didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry." He mumbled under his breath. She stumbled and fell onto the floor once more, but by herself this time. He offered his hand, trying to help and ask for forgiveness without actually speaking.

Alice slapped his hand away and wiped her face for a second time, blood staining her shirt and mixing with the drying blood crusting on her hand.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She got up on her own and stood up to face him. She really wanted to say something to him, make him feel bad for what he had just done, but she couldn't think of anything.

She settled for something, though not very eloquently thought out, would do the job:

"I hate you!"

She went to the couch and wiped the blood from her face with the hem of her shirt.

Ivan walked away from her. He couldn't say or do anything that would help her. He wiped the blood that was trickling from his nose from that particularly hard punch she threw at him.

He needed to go out. This was becoming too much to handle, even for him.

"Where are _you_ going?" Alice spat out. She said the word you with so much distaste that it surprised Ivan. He never saw her angry before. He didn't like it.

"Out." He murmured loudly enough so she could hear. He walked towards the door, grabbing his coat and scarf as he passed the row of hooks near the door…

^ J ^

So there he was, now drunk as hell and dialing a number on his phone. This was funny, since he did not remember taking out his phone to call anyone, hell he didn't even remember the number he dialed. But he knew it was a legitimate one, since it was ringing.

"Hello?" a voice asked on the other end. It was slightly tired, but kind. When she didn't hear anything, she asked again louder. "Hello? Ivan? This is your phone number calling me, right….?"

"Charlotte, what are you doing answering?"

"You called me…" she paused again. "Are you drunk?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Well I can practically smell the booze over the phone and your voice sounds more slurred than Ke$ha's."

Ivan laughed but didn't say anything back.

"So…you called me?"

"Yes."

"And I'm guessing from the slurred speech and late call that this phone call was not a 'hey how are you, Charlotte?' type of call, yes?"

"Yes."

She sighed heavily on the other end and Ivan could hear what he thought was a hand slapping against skin, probably the sound of her face-palming. "Do you ever think that maybe I have other clients? That _maybe_ I could have been with another client now, and you could have ruined it. You can't just call whenever you want, Ivan. I don't work that way."

"Do you have any other clients?"

"…Well, no. But that's not the point."

"So…?"

She sighed once more. "So I will see you at the same place as always, and try not to get killed while you get there, okay? You're my best customer."

Ivan laughed and hung up on her without saying goodbye.

^ J ^

The next thing Ivan knew, he was in a small, and sort of cheap hotel. He didn't remember getting there…How did he get there again…?

A rather fat middle aged man with almost no hair left on his head and stubble on his chin that needed to be shaved cleared his throat loudly.

"You room key." He said in a gruff, hoarse voice.

"…What?"

"Your key," he repeated. He jingled the keys in front of his face.

Ivan looked at the keys and took them in his hands slowly, still confused about where he was. But since he was too drunk to remember or dwell too much on it, he nodded at the man.

The tubby man at the reception desk glared at Ivan and told him the room number before mumbling a curse under his breath and resting his large head on the desk he was seated behind.

Funny, he didn't remember how he got there…Oh well.

He looked at the number on the key and walked through the halls until he found it. He put it in the lock, turned the key and stumbled in, still wasted.

Charlotte was sitting on the bed, searching through limited amount of channels in the cheap hotel as she pulled at one of the black curls that fell into her eye. She mumbled something about getting her hair cut but stopped flicking through channels when she heard Ivan enter in.

"Hello there." She said with a small smirk "You look absolutely wasted."

Ivan walked over to her and planted a kiss on her lips "Thank you."

After he pulled away she laughed and wiped the lipstick that had spread on his cheek from the kiss. "You wouldn't want your wife to find out, now would you?" she mused softly.

Ivan shrugged but his eyes widened when what she said registered. "Wait…How did you know that I was married?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're wearing a wedding band on your ring finger Ivan. It's not that hard to spot. Plus, when you have my kind of job, you learn to spot things like this."

Ivan touched the ring on his finger as she talked and rubbed it absentmindedly. He almost had to remind himself that it was there…He never did feel married to Alice. He didn't love her, which is usually what bound a couple together…

Charlotte started to kiss him on the neck slowly and softly, like little butterflies. She started undoing his shirt buttons one by one while Ivan sat still, not really paying attention to her.

_Did he love her?_

That was simple. It was a no, he didn't love her. But did he care about her, and not want to do anything that hurt her? That was a yes. But so far he was botching that up like a pro. Alice would not have guessed that he cared and as for the not hurting part, he knew that ship had sailed. It was almost laughable how badly he dealt with feelings.

…_Wait. When did I get naked?_

His thoughts left his mind as he noticed that they were both nude. He blinked a little in confusion, not remembering when that happened. He must've not been paying attention as he thought about Alice… Why did she have to come into his mind all the time?!

He needed to forget about her. And preferably soon before he got hurt.

Ivan kissed Charlotte, ran his hands down her back and through her hair, all the while trying to keep Alice out of his mind. When he bit her neck roughly and she let out a soft moan, he tried not to think of Alice. He tried not thinking of Alice as he thrusted into Charlotte a final time. But he couldn't stop thinking about Alice, not as he stumbled home, or as he made his way to his bedroom, or as he laid down in bed to fall asleep.

_So much for forgetting._


	26. Fate is Stronger Than Memmories

Hey guys. Sorry this one came late but I had ZERO inspiration. I kept re-writing this one chapter to see if it would get better or to see how I could change it to make it better, but it was not cooperating. It was very frustrating, and I was thoroughly annoyed. Also my teachers decided to give me a test, a shitload of homework, and THREE projects (in which NONE of my group members for any of them wanted to cooperate!)so I had no time to revise this as much as I wanted to, so if you see some typos, tell me. Sorry for the rant but I am 100% done with people. Anyways, I guess this will have to do for now. So here is a new chapter for you guys, okay? (UPDATE: sorry guys but I got mixed up and accidentally made Francis three years older when I meant him to be two years older. I am pretty sure that I made him three years older in other chapters, so I will go back and fix those as well.)

CHAPTER 26

Alice was gone by the time Ivan woke up. When he stumbled into the living room, looking for her, incredibly agitated and hung over, there was no sight of his wife.

Where she had gone, Ivan had no idea. He believed she would be fine on her own though. She _was _always telling him to treat her like an adult, so here was her chance to act like one. At least that was what he told himself…He could already feel the pangs of worry in the back of his mind. They just made his headache worse.

He frowned and walked into the kitchen, taking care not to step on a pile of books that fell from the bookshelf that he must've walked into last night. He must have been pretty drunk to not remember walking into a bookshelf…he hardly remembered anything that happened last night. Except…

"Fuck." Ivan mumbled out loud as he rubbed his forehead.

That was not a good decision he made, not at all. It was not a good idea and he knew that it would bite him in the butt sooner or later. He could just imagine Alice's face if she found out… It would be angry and hurt but most of all betrayed.

_But isn't that what you wanted? _A little voice asked quietly, mockingly from his mind.

_No…No…Not like this…_ An even quieter voice replied desperately.

_You did this to push her away…you got what you wanted._

_I didn't want her to go…_

The voice laughed bitterly. _Well now she is gone. Like everyone else. Gone._

_Gone…_ the other voice repeated sadly.

_Gone…_ the sound rang through his head.

Ivan shut his eyes tightly as the internal struggle made his head hurt even worse. He covered his ears and frowned in pain.

_Gone_

_Gone_

_Gone_

_Gone_

"Gone…." He said out loud. The room rang from his voice and the voices inside ceased. Slowly, No one was there and nothing made a sound. He was utterly alone.

"Why did I have to sleep with her…?" he asked no one in particular softly.

_Why can't I deal with things like a normal person? _The voice added.

No answer came, at least none that he couldn't already provide himself.

That was the worst part of it. Ivan knew what he was doing. He consciously knew that he was pushing her away, as he did with everyone else, but he kept doing it. He also knew that he wanted her to be with him. He also knew that this was irrationally stupid, because he wanted one thing while he tried to prevent himself from doing that thing he wanted so much.

_It is for protection._ The voice assured him firmly.

If it was, then he had succeeded.

^ J ^

*(TWO HOURS EARLIER)*

Ivan had not woken up and Alice did not feel like being around when he did. She had had enough of his bullshit. And frankly, she just wanted to talk to a friend.

She walked into the living room and picked up the phone from the floor that probably fell down when Ivan knocked some books out of the shelf last night.

_He must have been pretty drunk…_

Almost instinctually she said "I'll just call Feliks…" and started dialing the first few digits of his number. Suddenly Alice stopped as she remembered that she could not call him. She would not be able to talk to him again…

"Oh Feliks…" she mumbled under her breath sadly. She still had not gotten over his death, and how could she? He was one of her few friends and he listened to her, and helped her when she needed it, he joked with her and with him she felt happy. That was a total 360 from life without him…who else could she talk to? Katyusha was nice and sweet and Alice really liked her, but she could not talk to her about everything. Even though she knew that Katyusha would never tell anything she said to anyone else, she was Ivan's sister and it did not feel right, talking to your sister-in-law about marriage problems.

So that left only…

"Hello?" A cheerful voice asked on the other end, just as Alice was going to give up calling and hang up the phone.

"Francis, hey."

"Oh, hello!" he replied after a moment. A voice in the background groaned impatiently and coughed loudly, obviously trying to get attention.

"Are you doing anything? Or should I just hang up…?" she replied, slightly embarrassed. She didn't want to be selfish, but she hoped that whoever he was with would just get up and leave so she could talk to her only friend.

"No, I'm just entertaining a guest." An angry voice was heard in the background, muffled. "A very annoyed one at that." He continued with a chuckle "Is there something in particular you wanted?"

Alice got to the point quickly. "You mind if I come over?"

"No, not at all! I have wanted to talk to you, actually."

"Really?"

"Yes. You can come over now if you want. Do you know where I live?"

"No. But don't you have someone over…?"

"Eh? Oh, don't mind that…I forgot that you have never been to my apartment. I will pick you up then."

"Awesome!"

"I will be there in half an hour."

^ J ^

"Hey Francis." Alice said as he pulled up next to her. Francis winked at her as he stopped the car next to her.

"Hello Alice!" he said with a grin almost as bright as the ones she wore when she was happy.

Alice smiled and then cocked her head to the side as she saw Arthur in the passenger seat next to Francis. "Hey Arthur!" she called. "What's up?"

"Nothing." He growled under his breath. "It's nice to see you." Alice could not tell whether he was being truthful or sarcastic. She went with truthful

Alice climbed into the back seat of Francis' car and sat with her hands folded in her lap and a small smile on her face. Being around him was already making her feel better.

"Do you guys live together?"

Arthur guffawed "Sure, as if I could spend more than an hour with him at a time."

Francis nodded "That was a nice hour by the way. Though, you really should not interrupt people when they are on the phone."

"Bite me." Arthur grumbled under his breath.

Francis winked at him and smirked "I have done much more than that."

Arthur's face got bright red and he was about to answer when he turned around and saw Alice shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"Can you not, you French idiot? You're making the poor girl uncomfortable."

"Thanks." Alice piped in.

"Sorry, Alice. I am just dropping him off at his place and then we can go to mine."

"I don't mind."

After a few more minutes of less awkward conversation and driving, Arthur was left at his house. Francis drove the rest of the way to his apartment, talking amiably to Alice the whole while. He parked the car a few blocks away from the apartment building he lived in, which was not very far at all from where Alice lived, about a forty-five minute bus ride at most. They walked the rest of the way to his place.

Alice was not sure what she expected Francis' apartment to look like, but if there was one word she would have to use to describe it by, she'd have to say "classy".

His apartment as not as big as Ivan's but it was better furnished by far. As she entered the front door of the apartment, Francis threw his coat on a hook lazily and stretched nonchalantly, stifling a yawn as he walked past her.

Alice's mouth was agape at the whole sight. The living room had a long white couch and a smaller white loveseat that Alice was not sure if she should sit on or admire and a glass coffee table with a few books scattered on it. A large flat screen was mounted on the wall in front of it, on the wall facing the couches. A large shelf that went almost all the way from the ceiling to the floor and took up a good half of the long white wall housed Francis' wide collection of books.

The dining room was connected to the living room but was not at all crowded. That area held a long table that could sit ten comfortably. White chairs surrounded the table, waiting to sit people down for a meal. A few pictures were on the wall in the dining room, mostly of Francis and what Alice guessed was his family from the same wavy blonde hair and deep blue eyes the people in the picture shared. A beautiful view, much like Ivan's was what tied the dining room together: floor to ceiling windows spanned across the whole of the eastern coast and overlooked the other apartment building and skyscrapers.

The kitchen was just as simple but high tech as the rest of the house. A large silver refrigerator was on the side of black granite countertops that formed an "L" shape. A deep sink, a four burner stove, and a row of black cupboards above and below the counters completed the kitchen scene along with a row of hooks that a few copper pots and pans hung from and microwave.

He was standing in the kitchen now, with the double door-ed fridge open as he hummed a tune Alice could not recognize. He pulled out a few green grapes and popped them into his mouth as he walked to the cupboard above the sink and grabbed two glasses.

"Do you want anything to drink?" he called, not bothering to turn around.

"Um…water?" she asked, not knowing if he had anything else she would like. She padded her way to the couch and sat down stiffly, with her hands in her lap, too afraid to touch anything lest she get something dirty.

"Water?" Francis asked, slightly surprised. "If you say so." He filled the cups and walked to the kitchen with two cups in his hand, hers filled with water and his with seltzer. He handed her her cup and sat down next to her, one leg crossed over the other and his arm resting on the top of the couch and around her.

"So you and Arthur?" Alice said with a little smile "I thought he said he wasn't gay."

Francis chuckled "Arthur doesn't know what he is. I'm not complaining though, he can be as confused as he likes as long as he keeps having sex with me."

"Aw that's cute." Alice teased "Is someone in love?"

Francis laughed. "Far from it, frankly he gets on my nerves, and I don't think I could stand dating him for too long if he would yell at me like he usually does. But he's my best friend…and I guess now a friend with benefits…so I care about him." Francis admitted. "But hey, you never know, right?"

Alice sighed and rested her head on his arm. "At least your relationship is good."

Francis sat up straight suddenly, making Alice almost fall over. He turned quickly to face his friend and frowned. "What did he do to you?" he asked sternly. Alice blinked in surprise. "Alice, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Alice said. She patted Francis' hand softly. When he looked at her skeptically she repeated herself. "I'm fine, don't worry."

He scooted closer to her, placed his hand under her chin and peered at her face. "What's this?" he said as he traced a fading cut on her lip softly. Alice jerked her head back, blushing furiously at the thought of Francis thinking of her as weak.

"It was nothing, just a fight. I hit him back anyway." She wiped the cut on her mouth instinctively, breaking the just healed skin. A little trickle of blood dripped down her mouth.

"That is not how that works, Alice. Neither of you should be hitting each other! He especially; he's much bigger than you, he could have hurt you!"

"He didn't, I would not have let him." Alice said firmly. "I'm strong."

"There is no denying that. But really Alice, you two should just not talk if all you're going to do is fight." Francis sighed. "And now you're bleeding." He got up from the couch and picked up a box of tissues sitting on the other couch. "What were you fighting about?" he asked as he plucked a tissue from the box and dabbed at the blood on her bottom lip.

"I really do not know." She admitted. She winced a little as he touched the cut and Francis apologized with a "sorry". Alice continued. "It was just a lot of things I guess; really I don't remember what we fought about."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it was nothing. Sure I'm pissed the fuck off, and I really rather not see him or I'll probably start another fight but I'm okay."

"Are you sure you are alright? That did not sound "okay" to me…"

Alice smiled and punched him in the arm, not hard enough to hurt him badly, but hard enough to remind him that she was indeed tough. "Are you kidding, I'm not fazed by this kind of shit. I'm Alice fucking Jones."

"Okay, I trust you. But if anything and I mean _anything _else like this_ ever _happens again, you have to tell me, alright? I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"I will." Alice promised. "Geez you're like a big brother."

"I care about you, you know that."

"Thanks for doing that."

"It's my pleasure." He said softly. He stopped dabbing at her lip and crumbled up the tissue. He threw it into the waste bin and hugged her close.

"What's this for?" Alice asked with a little laugh.

He shrugged "I thought you would like a hug."

She hugged him back and Francis rested his head on top of hers. No one said anything. Alice sighed softly every so often and Francis busied himself by trying to flatten her hair down (which did not work) and cursing at Ivan in his mind.

"Francis?" she said finally, after what seemed like hours.

"Mhm?"

"I was lying when I said I didn't care about him when you asked me before, but you know that don't you? " she didn't wait for answer. "But now I hate him, I really do."

"I know, I know." Francis comforted. "Do you really hate him though?"

Alice nodded. "I'm not lying! The bastard hurt me…And it would have been fine if he just yelled at me or something, I could yell back just as loudly. But it's not that, he makes me have my hopes up and then crushes them right when I feel happy and he makes me so angry at everything."

Francis listened quietly as she spoke, not interrupting her or saying she was wrong, because she wasn't. _Why can't he just express his feelings like a normal person? _Francis almost considered telling her that he was pretty sure that Ivan felt something for her too, but he decided not to get her hopes up just in case he would do something stupid. _I really need to talk to him about this._

"You know, now I wish I never married him. I could have figured out another way to find Matthew…something, anything, just not _this._ Because this "marriage" if that's what you can call it is making me sick. I could have made some money and saved up or…I don't know. It's just I was so desperate and now they still haven't found him…I am starting to think that I never will."

"Alice, I'm not trying to say you made the wrong decision or the right one, but what else could you have done? There are almost no jobs to be had now and even if you did somehow get a job, where would you live? How would you have enough money for food, clothes, everything? I'm not saying that this was a better decision, but just be logical. At least now you have a place to live, food to eat, and hope for finding him."

"But I don't want _hope._ I want my brother back!" she said loudly.

"I know, Alice I know. But there is nothing we can do but hope. At least now there is a better chance of finding him wherever he is. And I know that somewhere he is looking for you too. You are brother and sister, he cares about you just as much as you care about him and I know for a fact that he misses you too."

"How?" Alice asked sadly. "You can barely remember him."

"I just know." Francis said firmly. "If you can't trust that he will, at least trust me." He smiled at Alice which earned him a reluctant, weak smile from her. Alice sighed. It seemed she had been doing this a lot lately, more than usual.

"You know, sometimes I forget that you are only two years older than me…you're just way more mature." Alice thought out loud.

"How so?"

"You just…are. The way you talk and act, just everything. I still can't believe that you grew up and stuff."

Francis smiled "Well that all happens when you grow up, you get more mature. And that's because all you remember when you see me is the little immigrant boy who didn't know a word of English other than "hello"."

Alice chuckled softly and Francis joined in as well. She broke free from the hug to stretch and yawn loudly. Francis looked away from her and frowned. Alice raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, trying unsuccessfully to read his thoughts.

"Hey Alice…" Francis asked softly when she looked at him.

Francis smiled and patted her on the head as he settled back on the couch comfortably. Alice brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on his arm that was around her. For a long while they just sat silently, neither moving nor talking, but being content in each other's company.

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about when we were younger?"

Alice frowned and moved to look at him in the eyes. "You don't remember?" Francis shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Not really, no." he admitted softly. He didn't look as mature as before, actually his face resembled that of the little boy Alice met so long ago-meek and a little scared-. Alice wondered how someone like Francis, so happy and smooth, could change his whole demeanor so quickly…she guessed everyone had a rough past in one way or another, she sure did.

"What…what happened to you?" Alice asked slowly. "You just up and left one day and you never came back. We, me and Mattie I mean, we were really worried about you."

Francis chewed on his lip. "A lot of things. I had to leave, I didn't want to, truly."

"But why?" Alice pressed. She looked at him with blue eyes like his own filled with confusion mixed with concern. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's cool." She added quickly when she noticed that she was becoming pushy.

Francis sighed "No, it's fine. I might as well tell someone and since you _are_ my oldest friend, why not? I would have to tell you why I came to the U.S in the first place…"

Alice sat up tall and at attention, facing him with her hands in her lap. Her eyes were wide in curiosity and she leaned forward slightly to show that she was listening. Francis brushed back a blonde lock that fell into his eyes and continued.

"When I was very little, almost seven years old, my parents and I were taking a trip for my birthday. It was going to be a long trip to the countryside, where we planned to stay, so we started driving early, but soon we lost our way and it became dark and late. In the dark, it was hard to see the truck heading towards us, even with the front lights on, especially since the man driving that car was drunk. He hit our car square on, making us fall off of the road and roll down to the bottom of the slope the road was built on top of.

"Both my parents died, and I saw everything. The last thing I remembered was my mother screaming and looking at me to see if I was still alive. When I woke up, I saw that I was alive. But I learned later that my parents were not as lucky…I couldn't remember anything when I woke up. I guess that was a blessing considering what I had to go through…

"I had no relatives in France other than my parents, and since I needed someone to care for me, the child services authorities set me up with my mother's mother, the only grandparent I had that was still alive. As I recovered, I had to re-learn a bunch of things. It was hard, you don't usually remember learning simple tasks or words, but I had to as if I was a baby all over again. My grandmother came to see my progress when she saved enough money. She was wonderful and patient and loved me, and my life became more stable. But after I recovered, we had to go back to America, to her home. Up until then, I have never been on a plane, or a traveled, or spoke a word of English…I had to go to a new school, and I was alone."

He looked at Alice and his serious face turned into a smiling one. "But then, one day I met this little French girl with unruly blonde hair who wanted to be the commander of an army." He reached over and messed up her hair and Alice beamed. "She had a brother too, who shared the same appearance as her but was as shy as could be and hid behind her. Needless to say, I was a little scared of her even though she was younger and much smaller than me. But soon, we became friends and everything was good again. I was really happy, I remember that much."

Alice frowned "But then why did you leave?"

"As I grew older, I wondered about my parents. I knew that I had parents, my grandmother told me about them but she never said why they were dead and what happened for fear of making me re-live that moment. I was very curious, so I searched her house, I remember that now. And then I stumbled upon papers from the hospital I stayed at after the crash, I read them, about how I was hurt and why…and then I started to remember. I remembered everything so vividly, as if they were dying all over again, the pain, the frightening feeling, everything. It was too much to handle for a little boy…My grandmother said I had a nervous breakdown. We went to the hospital once again, but it was too late.

"The shock, the doctors said, made me block out everything having to do with them and more as I way to deal with all that I had been through. It was as if I started all over again, back in the hospital. My grandmother was devastated, and we moved for a change of pace, to somewhere calmer where I could recover once again. Years passed, and my grandmother helped me remember all that she could. I went to therapy to help me remember more, but still, most of my childhood was a blur. I went to another school to finish middle school, went to high school, and I was about to go to college when I decided to go on a break. It was a bit of a cliché but I really did want to find myself, almost literally. At least some memories I could try and piece back together... I went back to New York for a vacation and that's where I met a shy, yet intimidating college boy who wanted to become a physicist.

He finished his long story and sighed "And the rest you know." He looked at Alice for her reaction and for once he found her hard to read. She stared at him, slightly frowning but pouting at the same time.

"Don't feel sorry for me." He said firmly "I don't want sympathy."

"I don't…I just…It's a lot of stuff I never knew about you…" she said slowly "It makes me realize that I really didn't know anything about you…"

"If I knew all this when I was younger I would have told you, really." He assured her "But I left and then I forgot you until we met again."

"But…do you remember more now?"

He nodded "I remember a lot of things, not all though. I like to think of it as if my memories are locked behind a door. There is a key to open it and it is possible but I lost the key somewhere. If I find the key then I can unlike the door and find everything."

"So what don't you remember?"

" I still don't remember everything about my childhood in France, or about my childhood with you and Matthew." He looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Do you think you could tell me about everything we did? I try, but it hurts my head."

"What do you want to know?"

"Just…anything. I just want to know what I did when I was younger, about my life."

"This may take a while." Alice replied with a small smile. "I remember this one time, it was summer and Mattie, you and I were all going to the park…"

She told him all about all of the adventures they went on when they were little. She told about when Matthew found a toad and named it "Mr. Lumps" and then punched a boy in the face when he tried stealing the toad away from him. She chatted about the time it was Halloween and Francis dressed as a prince and made all the little girls have crushes on him.

She talked about when they all bought a bike together since they had no money to buy more than one and wanted to show that they were "independent" to their guardians and could buy their own things. That ended up working finely, she said, since Matthew attached his red wagon to the back and Alice sat on the handlebars as Francis steered and peddled. They laughed as she told him about the time they went to the woods and played hide and seek in the dark which ended up in Alice getting lost and Matthew searching for hours trying to find her, until they went home, crying and scared. They walked to Alice's and Matthew's house only to find her drinking hot chocolate and watching cartoons, perfectly safe and sound.

After hours of talking and laughing, Alice sighed. "Wow, I almost forgot about a lot of those things, but now that we're talking about them, I remember all the good times we had, all three of us, I mean."

Francis nodded. "I wish I could remember all of them, but now that you mention all of these things we did, I can sort of see some of it. It's blurry and hard to make out, but I can sort of remember. I remember the time with the bicycle most of all, for some reason. Probably because you almost broke your neck when you almost fell."

Alice laughed. "_That's _what you remember, out of everything?" she shook her head "But you saved me anyway, I wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Yeah." He laughed "You idiot, I remember yelling at you afterwards and you storming off…My god, I had the worst crush on you as a little boy…It was horrible."

Alice's eyes widened a little but her smile didn't fade. "Really?"

Francis chuckled. "How could you not tell, it was pretty obvious. I was around you all the time and I blushed whenever you got near me, it was pretty bad."

"Oh, maybe that's why you turned down all those little girls who had crushed on you…My god, you were a player even then!"

Francis smirked. "What can I say? I have always been good with love."

Alice smiled and rolled her eyes. "You know, I missed this."

"What?" Francis asked as he ran a hand through his hair and yawned. It had gotten late and neither had even noticed, it was true it seemed, that time flies when you tell your friend with amnesia about past events.

"Friends, I missed having friends. After you left, things just weren't the same. A lot happened and I just didn't make a lot of friends afterwards, all I had was Matthew."

"Well you have me now."He smiled "Life has a weird way of bringing people together, yes? Fate is stronger than memory it seems."


	27. UPDATE I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE

Hey guys. Remember how I said I would be fixing the earlier chapters because they were so dreadfully horrible? Well I do. I have not gotten around to that because of having a lot of things to do. But, since I am in a bit of a rut with this story as of now and am trying to have some inspiration as to where to go next with this, I have decided that for a little while I will be going through my older chapters to fix them. They had a lot of typos and were rushed and just overall pretty shitty. I will fix them up and make them better so I won't have to cringe every time I re-read them.

I will still update with the "real" chapter, but after this little update thingy a little later (probably in a few days), but I will be only working on the older chapters until they are all finished. This will give me time to go through my ideas for this story since it will be reaching its climax soon. It will also give me a chance to practice my writing and improve which is always good.

So yeah, that's all I wanted to say.

-theredcoon


	28. Lounging Around

Sorry for updating so late guys! I have a good excuse: I caught such a horrible virus on my computer; it was so bad that I couldn't even open my internet and it kept freezing! I could not even write this chapter until days ago! I tried fixing my computer myself (with my sister's help of course) but NOTHING was working and I was hoping that nothing too bad was going on and that it could be fixed somehow . Anyway, we had to get it checked professionally and as you can see, my computer is running normally (actually better now than before) so I can post this chapter!

So sorry for all of that but the moral of the story is: be careful what you click on the internet because it will cost you one week without tumblr (which was making me practically feral). Also, I can't believe this story is almost 30 chapters! Wow, time flies, right? Also, like I said in my update, I am taking a sort of break (not really since I will still be working on the story, just not posting new chapters) so don't expect a new chapter next week. Once I fix things, I will be back and better than ever. So here you go, a new chapter for everyone!

CHAPTER 27

(Ivan's POV)

The day Ivan went back to Chelsea Pier was a cold and windy one. The freezing rain went through clothes and shoes alike and sent most people searching for the nearest café or store where they could escape the horrible weather. The temperature lowering made the rain turn into hail and as it fell, it made a steady sound, hitting the car in a low rhythm.

_Winter is supposed to be lightening up. I guess it did not get the message…_

Ivan watched the people in the streets through the back seat of the car with a bored expression on his face. He hated being driven to places, it made him feel less independent, but ever since Feliks' death, Yao and the rest of the gang (though mostly Yao) insisted that he be escorted more strictly to and from places, especially to the pier.

He didn't know how he felt about coming back to the Allies. He had to eventually, it was an obligation that he must uphold, but he didn't want to go there so soon…

It was Katyusha who had urged him to go back to work, to maybe take his mind off of things, as if that could make him feel better. He didn't want to at first, but after the worried calls he got from her, Ivan had consented. He knew that his sister meant well but going to work would only make him feel even worse. The only thing that would make him feel better now after everything that happened was revenge.

Katyusha was right when she warned him while they were talking on the phone that revenge would not bring Feliks back, but Ivan didn't care. He wanted that man to suffer as he made Feliks suffer, as he had made poor Toris suffer, and Katyusha and himself. He needed to show everyone that no one could hurt his family and get away with it. He _needed_ to. And he would, one way or another.

Before he knew it, the car stopped in the front lot of the Allied headquarters and brought his wandering mind back to the current matter of coming back. One of his younger underlings (a new one, Ivan presumed, since he hardly remembered his face and didn't know his name)who was driving him got out of the car quickly (almost falling in the process) to open the door for him. Instead, Ivan opened the door himself, not wanted to be humiliated further by having everything done for him.

He walked to the front of the old brick building with the young man who was driving him straining to keep up with his brisk pace. He raced in front of Ivan to open the door for him which made the gang boss frown. Ivan said nothing however, and followed the man through the door, down the hall, and up the stairs. His small frown was quickly replaced by his usual slightly condescending smile as he passed a man he knew. Ivan gave him a curt greeting and a nod as the man lead him through the halls and to the stairwell.

Ivan walked up the stairs with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a stifled sigh caught in his throat. He wondered how the rest of his men were getting along without him. He was sure that they were okay on their own; he trusted them, well at least the ones closest to him. But they obviously needed a leader, and as bitter as he had been about the job originally, Ivan had grown fond of leading. And he intended to keep doing it.

"Oh you're here…finally." A voice dripping with sarcasm said from the hallway. Ivan half smiled, guessing that it was Arthur giving his usual less-than-welcome greeting but turned around to come face to face with a frowning Francis. That was odd to say the least. The times Francis got genuinely angry were few and far between and Ivan knew the times that he did were for legitimately important reasons.

_Something must have happened._

"Francis is there anything wrong?" Ivan asked quickly, concerned for the welfare of his gang and his job as boss. If anything were to happen…no, he could not think like that.

"No, nothing with the other gangs, if that is what you mean. They have been relatively quiet since you left…" he replied in the same angry voice, so unlike his usual one.

Ivan was not sure about how he felt about Francis' tone, though as always, giving the benefit of the doubt was something he did regularly and seemed to work in situations such as these. "Yes, I had to come back sometime; I _am_ your boss after all."

"That's a given," Francis paused and his voice had a heavy weight of concern added to it "But what you have been doing, Ivan, is just not alright. You have spent far too long from this place; people were starting to get worried."

"Yes, mourning over your cousin who is like a brother to you does get tiring. I am sorry for not putting other's worries first. I will be sure to make a note of that next time one of my relatives is murdered."

Francis frowned once more "Mourning would be fine, if you were not getting drunk and getting into fights with your wife. Do you really think that is how you should act?" He quickly grew quiet after that, knowing even before Ivan responded that he had just walked into scary territory. Anything else he said and he could be stepping on a land mine to make Ivan snap.

Ivan's face darkened. "She told you." He knew that she would but he didn't think Francis would bring it up. He still felt like an idiot for getting into a physical fight with her, and even worse for hurting her, but most of all for cheating on her…though it would have been nice if she felt sorry as well, since her punches hurt like hell.

"Yes, and I am not really pleased about what I had heard." Francis knew that he was not being careful about what he said, but frankly he couldn't find a single shit to give right now. Ivan was being pretty reckless lately, and it didn't help that Francis was in a bad mood as it was.

"I think that this is none of your concern." Ivan said warningly.

"It _is_ my concern." Francis insisted. He was going to regret this later he was sure…

"Really? How so?" Ivan questioned.

"Because of the gang. You can't just leave us like this! It left us venerable and weak without you!"

"That is not the only reason." Ivan stated knowingly. It wasn't a question, but a statement, a statement that Ivan knew was right, no matter what Francis said. It was true; the gang wasn't the only reason. He hated how he was treating Alice and he wanted it to stop.

Francis didn't answer, but looked at Ivan with a cold glare. He crossed his arms over his chest indignantly and waited for Ivan to continue talking.

"It seems as if you are putting her over me...But that would never happen, yes?" Ivan asked.

"No." Francis said firmly, with a cold glare in his eyes. "Never."

Ivan nodded in approval. "Good… I have a question, though. Why would she tell you these things? She had not seen you for a while, I am sure and I doubt your friendship had stood the test of time for this long. Am I right or wrong?" he didn't wait for an answer. "So why is she telling you then?"

"She trusts me." Francis said, plainly and seriously.

"She should not," Ivan said with a small smirk "Remember what your job is Francis?"

Francis looked away from Ivan, disdain in his eyes. He didn't respond, but Ivan could see that he had won this little session of banter between them.

_As always._

That was one of the perks of being the boss, his word was law. Besides, it was hard to lose when you could pit men against each other as easily as snapping your fingers. But Ivan would never do that, good leaders did not have to resort to violence so easily…except where revenge was concerned. That was a different matter entirely.

"We all have a job, Francis," Ivan said slowly. "Some don't want it and others do, but we all have to do our own little jobs. You are no different. Do you understand me?"

Francis gave a quick nod of his head as a response. Ivan started walking down the hall, towards his office. He waved over for Francis to follow.

"Good. I am your friend so I am asking you to do as I say." He looked at Francis glare lessen and Ivan's face brightened. "I do not want you to be angry with me Francis; you are one of my closest friends, that is exactly why I trust you to do this, so please just do as I ask."

"I'm not angry with you." Francis said. His tone was the same, though it was somewhat less angry and more annoyed. His expression had changed as well; it was tired one instead of frown. No matter what happened, Francis would stand beside his friend. Ivan had helped him too many times to count and Francis owed him his life several times over.

Sometimes he felt like he was the only one other than his sister and Yao that Ivan could talk to. He felt like Ivan needed him, and he definitely needed Ivan. Their friendship was a good one, so why not do as he asked? It was a simple task sure, but…

"It's the just the circumstances…I wish it were different…"

"I gave you a job, how was I to know that you knew her? It was all by chance." Ivan said simply as opened the door to the office and walked inside.

"No," Francis said as he walked inside and away from him "It was fate."

(FRANCIS' POV)

^ J ^

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked from beside him. He was lying next to Francis, with his head resting on his chest as Francis played with his lover's hair absentmindedly.

"Hm?" He wasn't paying attention to anything right now, but Arthur had gotten him out of his daze.

"You aren't like yourself." Arthur said softly "You weren't really into it."

Francis' face flushed a little. Arthur was right. Francis was never _not_ into sex, it was sort of his thing. He had enough experience to please anyone, but for him to actually not be into sex meant that something was wrong.

"Sorry…I wasn't really thinking about sex I guess."

Arthur yawned against his chest and nuzzled his face into him softly."It's fine, I just want to know if you're okay."

"That's not like you. I was under the impression that you didn't care about how I felt." Francis smirked a little and pulled at Arthur's hair as he said this, earning a smack to his hand and a curse.

Arthur lifted his head from Francis' chest and leaned on his elbows as he scowled at the other man. "You're an idiot if you think that. I care about you, you stupid ass."

"Really?" Francis frowned and looked at Arthur.

"Of course." Arthur looked at him as if he was the dumbest person in the world but smiled as he shook his head and said "Damn you're slow sometimes."

Francis smiled to himself. He had always loved Arthur's smile, when he chose to show it (which was not as often as he should, in Francis' opinion) and how his voice was calm and sweet when he wasn't yelling or grumbling. Paired with his good looks and attractive personality, it was almost impossible for Francis _not_ to develop feelings for him.

But he wasn't supposed to. Arthur never wanted to fall in love, he had complained about enough for Francis to know his whole list of reasons for love being stupid by heart. No, Arthur wanted someone he could fuck and Francis was willing because, at the time, he didn't feel anything more than friendliness for his friend-turned-lover.

But it was surprisingly hard for Francis to keep his growing feelings for him at bay. He wanted to tell Arthur, to hear him say that he felt the same way, but he wasn't sure if he felt the same way. That was the only thing holding him back. He needed to know before he went insane.

Francis hugged Arthur and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

Arthur smiled despite himself. "Yeah, yeah. I don't know why you would think that I don't care, you're my best friend, I trust you enough to guard my life. Plus you're pretty good in the sack." He winked at Francis at this point and his smile widened.

Francis' heart sank. It wasn't exactly a no, per say, but it was pretty damn close. Maybe he would have to tell him to get a good response. He didn't want to be rejected by his friend, but it was getting to be too much. He would have to tell him soon….

But not today.

"So…" Arthur said when Francis didn't answer him. "Since you're feeling back to normal, how about round two? Because you really need to make up for that…." He chuckled and climbed on top of Francis, straddling his waist and beginning to kiss his neck before Francis shrugged away.

"I'm sorry." Francis said quietly. He pushed Arthur off of him and got up from the bed.

Arthur's eyes widened a little in confusion and he cocked his head slightly. This would have normally made Francis want to kiss him, but he could just not be around him now. "What's wrong now?"

"Nothing." Francis picked up his pants from the floor and wriggled into them as Arthur continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what was going on in his head.

_If only he could, this would be much easier._

Francis pulled the first shirt he saw over his head and pulled on the shoes he wore to work that day which were still near the bed. "Nothing." He repeated. "I just don't feel up to it tonight."

Arthur wrapped the sheets around himself more tightly and shrugged. "Alright then…" he said, not convinced that he was "fine". "Where are you going?"

"I need a drink." Francis said as he stepped out of the room and left Arthur alone to wonder about what just happened.

^ J ^

(ALICE'S POV)

Alice walked down the street with her hands deep in the pockets of her jacket. She hated to think it, but Ivan really did have good taste. The bomber jacket he bought her was really warm and pretty water resistant too, despite looking like any other bomber jacket. She really needed one that wouldn't get wet right now, on account of the hail falling all around her. It had been falling like this since the morning, and now it was past sunset and it was still falling just as heavily. She hated weather like this.

"I thought winter was supposed to be over soon…" she mumbled angrily under her breath. She chewed on the gum in her mouth and blew a bubble, popping it angrily a second later.

Alice really had no idea where she was going, but she needed to go somewhere. She had a pocket full of quarters and a mouth full of gum and if anyone though they were going to stop her, they would regret it. She blew another bubble and popped it loudly.

It was an understatement to say that she was angry. She was pissed and annoyed and frustrated and she just wanted to go somewhere. Somewhere where there was no Ivan, that is. She had thought they would have stopped after the fight that resulted in bloody noses and resentment a week ago, but that was just the beginning it seemed. She couldn't tell if he was egging her on, or if she was just going crazy, but she could not hold a conversation with him without she or he starting an argument.

Alice really didn't understand why she expected any different from him. Whatever initial kindness he had shown her must have just been politeness. And now…well he wasn't being quite so polite.

She knew Ivan was going through a tough time and she felt what he felt, she knew how he felt. But if he thought that was an excuse to be acting this way, he was sorely mistaken. Alice wanted to be nice and help him, but that was obviously not going to work with them. Alice hated to give up, she was stubborn as mule and relentless too, but she really didn't think she could stand him anymore…

Alice walked down the street and took a left, ending up right at the bus stop. She flipped her hair out of her eyes and stood next to an elderly couple and a group of young men with hair more red than what was humanly possible. One of them with a thick sprinkling of freckles glanced at Alice for a moment before she turned and frowned at him, making the poor boy turn away in embarrassment. She shrugged but crossed her arms over her chest once more to resume her sulking.

_And to think I had a crush on him… I was probably acting like a love struck teenager like in the movies…That's pretty pathetic._

True, Ivan was good looking. It would be the worst lie in the world to say he wasn't. And true he was nice sometimes…

_When he's not being a total dick hole, sure._

But that was way too superficial; to only like someone for how good they looked. There was way more to a relationship than looks, Alice knew that much for sure. Acting kind once in a blue moon did _not_ cut it either, but then again, their marriage wasn't for love, right? Alice remembered signing that stupid contract and making that dumb agreement with him and groaned out loud in regret.

_What a stupid idea that was, Alice. What a fucking stupid idea. Now you're stuck with him for…for a while at least until Mattie is found, and who knows how long that will take! It could be years!_

She chewed angrily on her gum and blew a huge bubble before popping it loudly. In the corner of her eye she saw the same young man flinch from the sudden sound and the old man cock his head sideways a little in confusion. She gave the old man a sympathetic glance and turned to look at the map on the bus stop. Truthfully, she had no idea where she was going, but she didn't care as long as it was somewhere she could just get away from things. She chewed on her gum slowly, trying to think of somewhere to go or something to do.

_And where could that be? You forgot money and you only have 20 bucks at most in your pocket. You have never been in this neighborhood before getting married and you have no idea what to do._

_Another smart idea, Alice._

She was just about to give up and walk back home when she remembered the little lounge she had gone to with Francis in what seemed like so long ago. She mentally cursed at herself for not remembering and walked away from the bus stop and all the people waiting. Alice hoped Francis would be there…she needed a friend to hang out with…someone she could be comfortable with and only Francis fit that bill.

She walked up the block, back from where she came; trying to remember and retrace her steps from the last time she was there. It was easier said than done, since she had not been paying much attention to her surroundings at that point.

_I had other things to deal with._

Alice walked up another block, took a left, took another… and ended up being completely lost. Alice slowed down her pace to look at her surroundings and try to figure out where the hell she was. The buildings didn't ring a bell and the establishments looked unfamiliar as well. Alice sighed heavily and ran a hand through her mop of blonde curls. She leaned on the side of an apartment and slid down slowly until she reached the front stoop of the apartment and seated herself down comfortably.

_All I need is a cigarette and rain and I would be in the most perfect romantic comedy scene ever._

She laughed to herself and rested her chin in the palm of her hand, its elbow resting on her knee. Sitting and resting wasn't too bad. She would rather talk but…this was good too, she guessed. Alice tapped the hand not holding her chin up on the stone of the stoop and looked up at the building. It was a nice looking building, an old one to be sure, the style of the bricks said-

"Wait a minute…" she said out loud. "I've been here before…" She got up to see if what she was true and saw the apartment building she was sitting at months before when she was also lost.

Alice chuckled a little to herself at the odds of being lost in the same place and finding her way to the same little apartment and walked down the street to where she remembered the lounge was. Alice walked down the street with a small smile on her face and walked into the lounge, showing the same large man that was there before her I.D. before sitting down on one of the couches near the back.

Alice shrugged off her coat as she realized how warm it was in the lounge and crossed one leg over the other lazily. She tapped her fingers on the couch in a bored manner and looked around at the other people who were there as well. They were all with someone else, talking or drinking while she was alone. She frowned and wondered what exactly she was doing here.

_Oh right, getting away from my "husband"…mission accomplished I guess?_

Alice rested her chin on her palm and her arm on her knee as she sighed and thought of something to do. As she mulled over whether or not she should go to the bathroom a thought crossed her mind.

_What the hell are you supposed to do in one of these places anyway?_

It was much too boring for her taste, but to be fair, most people were with someone else and she was all alone and couldn't even drink to pass the time. So, once again, Alice was completely and utterly bored.

"Hey miss." A low voice whispered into her ear "Can I buy you a drink?" Alice almost jumped out of her place on the couch from the surprise voice and whirled her head around to see who scared her.

Francis looked at her with a smile and winked at her before speaking:

"What are you doing here?"

Alice smiled.

_I should have known that it was Francis. He always seems to be there right when I need him._

"I don't know, just hanging out I guess. But what are you doing here?"

"I own the place." Francis responded to her as he sat down aside from her.

"Really?" Alice's eyes grew a little wider "Damn, how could you afford this place? It's so classy!" Her loud voice earned her a few confused stares from others within, which Alice didn't notice and Francis couldn't bother to care about.

"I've always wanted to own a restaurant or a lounge…It was always a dream of mine." He said wistfully "I like cooking and making people feel welcome and content, so why not buy a place and make it my own? I worked hard, saved up, and soon I had enough to buy and renovate this little place." He finished his sentence with a proud smile.

Alice looked around. "It _is_ very nice." She confirmed. "But..if you make money in here, why do you work for Ivan?"

Francis sighed and rubbed his chin. "I guess… I owe him a lot, Alice. A lot more than you would ever think. He is my friend, so I work for him because of that."

"Oh…" Alice said slowly. She wasn't sure what Francis had meant about a lot of things, but she didn't want to ask; she felt like it would be a sad story, and she had more than enough of those. "So then why are you here?"

"I come here from time to time to drink and flirt when I feel bored… Speaking of feelings, I am guessing that you felt like getting away?"

Alice didn't bother denying, it would make no difference to Francis, who knew what you felt before you even felt it. Instead she nodded. "You always know how people feel and think…It's so cool. I wish I could read the air and know how people tick like you do."

Francis shook his head "No you wouldn't. It's more problematic than you would think…But that is off topic." He finished in such a way that told Alice that he preferred not to talk about the subject any longer. "I could see why you wanted to get away. I must get boring being there with him all the time."

"Well yeah, but it's more than that," Alice responded "you know that."

"You're not going to talk about it?" Francis asked. He knew the answer, but he asked out of courtesy.

"Nope." Alice said firmly. "I came here to forget, not to keep remembering all this bullshit."

Francis got up from the couch suddenly, making Alice frown in confusion. He held out his hand, obviously for her to take.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"You said you wanted to forget right?" he smiled "Then let me help you."


	29. Paralyzed

I am really so sorry for not updating guys. So much has happened, too much! I would've updated sooner if not for the fact that I have a risk of getting carpal tunnel from doing too much with my hands (take that as you will haha). Either way, that is why I had not even gone back to re-do the previous chapters. I feel very annoyed for not updating because believe it or not, I read fanfiction too (wow!) and I HATE when people don't update when they say they will and it just…it just burns my biscuits. So sorry again. I hope you guys are excited for the next chapters because things are starting to pick up soon. We are reaching the climax of the story! Finally!

So here's the new chapter guys:

Chapter 28

"Having fun yet?" Francis asked with a warm smile.

Alice met him with narrowed eyes and a frown. She licked her lips and gave him a thoughtful look.

"I mean…it tastes okay if _that _is what you mean." She swallowed "I've had better."

Francis rolled his eyes "Some people just can't be pleased." He finished his burger and sighed happily; it truly was the best in the city. He hardly ever ate from fast food places (especially not in _this _side of town); he found the food greasy and their ingredients questionable. But he knew (and hoped) that Alice still loved fast food.

'Marie's Fast Food' was a small hovel of a building, its walls squished and curving inward, making it seem like it would collapse at any time. Two people could not stand side by side without being squished together inside the little building (which is what ended up happening to the two friends as they ordered). What it didn't have in architectural soundness though, it made up in food. It was voted as having the best fast food (that wasn't a commercial chain of restaurants) in the city for the fifth time in a row, and they deserved it, at least to Francis.

Alice ate the rest of her hot dog and grinned. "I give it a three out of five."

Francis' eyes grew wide in astonishment "What?! Are you insane?! You have no taste in food!"

Alice chuckled and slid her plate away from her "I _know_ about food, Francey-pants." She picked a toothpick out of the dispenser on the table and picked at her teeth.

"First of all, you have _no _idea what you are talking about Alice Jones!" Francis said, pointing a finger at her face. "And secondly, that is _not_ my name."

Alice groaned. "God… you calling me by my full name makes me feel like I'm in high school all over again…"

"Well maybe you should go back! Go to taste buds 101 and come back to me when you can appreciate the finery of this hot dog!"

Alice laughed "Damn, you're about as passionate about food as me…but I eat to eat, you eat because you're a "gourmet" right?"

"Of course I am! I only eat great food and I only make great food." Alice rolled her eyes at this. Francis ignored the gesture, some people would just never know the difference between good food and great food.

Francis smiled at her warmly "You know, you should try my cooking one day. I'll cook you anything you want, even dessert. Then I will show you the true meaning of great food."

Alice grinned "If it's free food, I'm there."

KATYUSHA'S POV

"Is there something on your mind, little brother?" Katyusha asked gently. She set down two cups of chamomile tea on the coffee table across of them and sat on the couch cushion next to him. She watched him sigh softly. He didn't answer her or drink the tea she poured him. Katyusha took a sip of her own tea and sighed happily, she could really brew a good pot of tea when she had to.

"Tea can help settle a mind, Ivan," she said wisely "plus I made a whole pot of tea and I can't drink it all. So drink your tea." She finished sternly.

Ivan smiled softly despite himself and reached down to grab the small china tea cup with painted roses on it. _He looks funny, a man as large as himself holding a dainty little tea cup._ He took a slow sip and turned to nod at her in approval.

Katyusha didn't bother asking him again whether he felt sad or troubled; she could tell already, though she did not know why. _That doesn't matter much. He'll tell me when he is ready. Or I will make him tell me after a while…_Katyusha knew from all her experience by raising her little brother that he needed time before he would tell you something. Some people saw this as a lack of trust in others (which was true to some extent) but Katyusha knew that he liked to weigh his words and find the right way to explain himself before he talked to anyone.

_So should I ask again, since it may take hours before he tells me, or should I let him tell me first…?_

She settled by waiting for him patiently until he would tell her.

Ivan drank the rest of his tea. "It's very good." He said in a voice that told her that he was far away, off in his own world of thoughts. "You always make the best tea."

"Thank you," she took a sip from her still half filled teacup and thought of what she could say next without pressuring him to say what was on his mind.

This time, Ivan broke the silence by his actions. He stretched out across the couch, his feet hanging over the edge and placed his head in her lap as he used to when he was a little boy and needed comforting. Katyusha smiled fondly at him and petted his hair softly as she used to when he was crying for their mother.

"I am sorry. You have too much to deal with, without me coming over. I trouble you all the time with things that are unimportant." He said with a small pout as he looked up at her.

_How is it that you still look like the little boy I had to raise? No matter how tall you grow, or how older you get, you still are little Vanya. How are you as ignorant as the little boy you were?_

Katyusha almost smacked him for saying that. "вы идиот. "

He frowned and his violet eyes turned away from her face. "You're so mean sometimes…"

"It's because you act like a stupid little boy. When you are sad, so am I! And when you're hurt, I am too! Do you think I could ever turn you away, no matter what; no matter what you have to say? If I can help you, I will. And if I can't, I will listen and comfort you because that is what sisters and brothers do."

He smiled sadly. "You know…I don't think of you as my sister. You are my mother, really."

"We have a mother." Katyusha said to settle the matter.

"I can't remember what our mother looks like anymore without seeing a picture. When I think of what our mother looks like, it is your face I see…"

"I remember Ivan. I remember her and you should too. She loved us and she cared for us, you can't say that was me who did all that." She said sternly. She did not want him to forget her. She deserved to be remembered and loved well.

He frowned at her "But you did. You raised Natalia and I and you were barely a teenager. And you didn't have any help either, father was a mess and we had no relatives. Now tell me you weren't our mother."

Katyusha couldn't disagree with that. She had been only 13 when their mother died. Ivan was 6 and Natalia was still a toddler. They had left Russia then almost immediately after their mother's death, their father and his brother leaving to America for a drastic change, and all of their children leaving as well. Their other uncle on their mother's side already lived there, with their cousin Feliks and they had been getting on well enough. So after checking with Feliks' father about their living arrangements (they would stay with Feliks until they could afford their own home) they flew to America.

As their father occupied his time with hunting for jobs, drinking from dusk to dawn, and occasionally beating his children, Katyusha was forced to take care of a toddler and a child, both distraught over a dead mother and a new country and language they had to adjust to. Katyusha took it all in stride, though, despite the bruises she got or the bloody cuts she had to heal. She didn't take it out on them and she didn't complain to them. She stayed strong and raised them as well as any mother.

"I guess I am." She said with a small smile "I was a teen mother without even being pregnant. How sad is that?" She didn't wait for a response. "I am not bitter over it, Ivan. It was my job to care for both of you."

"And I love you for it. Natalia did too." He said her name in a sort of whisper, as if she was a secret. Katyusha knew the reason was that the wounds he had from her death were still fresh… he always did take longer to adjust to things.

"I know Ivan. I love you too." She brushed his bangs out of his eyes "Tell me what is wrong, I can help you."

"I…I can't do anything wrong Katyusha. I can't look weak, not now. I have to be sure of myself and stern and fearsome…Everyday, it's as if I play a part. I have to fool everyone into following me, but how can I do that when I can't even fool myself into believing in me."

_Again with this? Can't you see how great you are, you stupid boy? _

"Ivan, you don't have to do anything."

"I do. I have to find the person who killed Feliks. I have to make him pay for what he did to you and to me and to Feliks and Toris. He has to-"

"Enough Ivan!" Katyusha exclaimed. The sudden yell made Ivan flinch and sit up.

"Now listen here; I never asked you to take revenge on anyone, neither did Toris, and though Feliks can't tell us anything now, we both know that he would not want you worrying yourself over this!"

"Are you saying I should let this go?" Ivan said with a frown "What will other people think? What about justice?"

"I'm not saying you should let it go, Ivan." Katyusha explained "But you should not worry yourself like this. You only think about revenge and how you can get it, and look at what it has been doing to you!" Her face softened. "Ivan I'm worried for you. I haven't seen you drink that much for a while…I don't want you to go back to drinking like that. Don't be like our father."

"I am _not_ like him." Ivan declared angrily.

"No, you're not, thank God. You're Ivan, a man who is kind and would not hurt his family. You know self control and how to be a good brother and husband. So…if you know all this, why can't you stop worrying about this killer?"

"Because he hurt my family." He turned away, and almost got up but Katyusha patted his leg and he straightened his posture instead.

"Fine. He did." Katyusha touched his cheek and gently turned his head so he could face her. "And you will make him pay, if that is what you want. You'll do it, I am sure, but not like this. If you want to get anything done, you cannot let grief and anger blind you. Grieve; calm down, search for him and when you find him, whoever he is, you will make him pay."

Ivan nodded. "But I thought you said you didn't want to ask for revenge."

"I didn't ask. I demanded it."

Alice's POV

"This is where we part I believe." Francis announced as they walked to her bus stop.

"Are you _sure_ that you don't need extra change or a ride or something?" Francis pressed. "It's a long ride back to your apartment and it's past midnight. Plus, this is not a good neighborhood."

Alice shook her head. "I grew up around here, I know my way around. If anything, you should be asking _me _for help." Francis raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Didn't you live with your grandmother, upstate?"

"I did. She died though and I moved…here." She was quiet after that and didn't look at Francis.

"Are you…alright?" Francis reached out to pat her but Alice moved back.

"I'm fine," she said, changing the subject quickly. "Don't worry about me. You should get home."

Francis gave her a doubtful look "It's late Alice. I wouldn't want you getting hurt; it would be all my fault. It's not that long of a ride, it won't set me back too much time."

"I'll be fine, Francis," Alice insisted. She gave him a bright smile to further back up her statement. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

Francis sighed "Fine, fine. You're so stubborn sometimes." He hugged her and Alice squeezed his hand softly "If you need anything, call me."

"Francis I'll be fine, I won't need anything, I'm-"

"If you need anything call me." Francis said firmly.

"Fine. Now get home, it's late."

"You too." Francis smiled and left, walking away quickly as to get home before it got too late (well early by now). Alice sighed and watched him go, wishing that she could have said more to him.

_Maybe I'll tell him soon…When I'm ready._

After Francis turned the corner of the street and she could no longer see him, Alice busied herself by looking up at the sky. There were many stars, shining brightly in the dark night sky, which was abnormal considering that the city's' lights usually drowned them out. She tried counting the number of stars but lost count after 30 (more or less since she mistook a plane for a shooting star).

"Damn." She said to herself under her breath. It really was a pretty sight and a welcome one after being so angry for longer than she had been for a while. Alice wasn't the type to be angry for long, unless you really crossed her.

She didn't feel angry when she was with Francis. She really didn't feel anything other than…contentedness. Things were simpler with him than with Ivan. Words came to her easily when she was speaking with him; she felt as if she could tell him almost anything. And best of all, he genuinely cared about what she thought, said, and felt. Only a few people took her seriously, and Francis was one of them.

_I f I never find Mattie, I'd be happy to just stay with Francis. He'd be the closest thing I have to family…even though we have spent so much time apart._

She hoped it would never have to come to that. Still…If it did, where would that leave Ivan and her? If for whatever reason they could not find Matthew, would it null their agreement? Would their marriage end if he couldn't keep his end of the deal? Or would she have to stay with him forever? She could deal with that if she could find Matthew, but if she couldn't…

_I probably should have thought about this before we agreed to get married…Nothing I can do now, I suppose._

Alice walked into the street to see if a bus was coming down the block. She frowned when she saw nothing but a few cars drive by.

"Who am I kidding, we're in New York." She mumbled under her breath angrily. "Buses don't come on schedule during the day, let alone in the middle of the night."

She walked to the bus post anyway, just to see when the bus was _supposed_ to come. Alice traced her finger along the line of times and days until she found the time closest to what she supposed it was (she didn't have a watch to tell). It was about six minutes until another bus _should_ come.

Alice chuckled under her breath. "I'll be lucky if I'm back before the sun comes up…"

Was Ivan worried about her? She wondered. He didn't seem the least bit interested in her lately which she couldn't say if she liked or didn't like. To be fair, she had not been very interested in him either, so the overall indifference was mutual…Though, she really couldn't tell what he thought. He was as hard to read as a book was when Alice didn't have her glasses on. So maybe he did care…?

_That's unlikely._

When she got back to the apartment, he would be asleep and wouldn't notice a thing, and if he did, he wouldn't care. He would wake up and not ask where she was, who with, or why. And Alice would be right. She didn't feel sad about that but she did feel a little tired of being right about her situation.

_It's better than fighting I guess._

Alice decided to stop daydreaming in case the bus came by without her noticing. She tended to be very engrossed in her thoughts…this was probably why she didn't notice the man walk up towards her and smile before talking in a very slurred and very familiar voice.

"Well…what do we have here?" the man's voice rang in her ears and seemed to sound through her very skull. Her eyes widened and she felt paralyzed, unable to move or turn. Her brain wanted to move but her feet would not listen. She urged herself to do something, anything but stand still and afraid. She wanted to run away.

She couldn't _run._

"No." she said under her breath.


End file.
